
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 6, 1994                   TAG: 9405060119
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

GUN BAN PASSES

In a nerve-wracking drama determined by the switch of a single vote, the House decided Thursday to ban 19 types of assault-style weapons. It was a crushing and unusual defeat for the National Rifle Association.

A buoyant President Clinton called it a ``sea change in the crime debate.''

Supporters of the ban erupted in cheers as the 216-214 vote ended dramatically, with Rep. Andrew Jacobs Jr., D-Ind., switching his vote to support the ban. Moments before, supporters were ahead by about 30 votes.

In general, Jacobs does not support gun control, but he saw a future opportunity to limit the size of magazines, some of which enable the guns to fire dozens of rounds without reloading, slipping away.

The legislation would stop production and sale of 19 assault-style firearms, copycat models and those that meet certain specifications. It also would limit detachable magazines to 10 rounds.

Jacobs said there was no last-minute arm-twisting. ``I spoke to no one. And I left the floor immediately, because I didn't want to take any accolades from the supporters.''

Most Virginia representatives, including Robert Goodlatte, R-Roanoke; Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, voted against the ban. The only Virginia legislators voting for the ban were Leslie Byrne, D-Fairfax, James Moran, D-Alexandria, and Herbert Bateman, R-Newport News.

Clinton said supporters of the ban had ``demonstrated extraordinary courage in the face of extraordinary political pressure to walk away.'' Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, said those same lawmakers ``led Americans down a blind alley of make-believe crime control.''

The outcome showed anew that the gun owners' group has lost some of the clout that once brought it certain victory against legislation to ban firearms. Last November, Congress passed the Brady law, which requires a five-day wait and background checks for handgun buyers.

Clinton had lobbied lawmakers in dozens of telephone calls. He said the House ``rose to the occasion and stood up for the national interest.''

Both houses now have passed similar weapons bans. The final language must be worked out in a House-Senate conference.

Only last week, backers of the ban were 15-20 votes behind. By the start of this week, the number had dwindled to less than a dozen. And as the vote neared, even as lawmakers confronted each other in floor debate, a parade of ban supporters stepped forward to announce their new positions.

The measure would stop future production and sale of the 19 weapons, but would not affect legally owned guns on the list.

The bill exempts 650 named rifles and shotguns. Similar provisions were in the Senate crime bill passed in November, but the House crime bill passed two weeks ago did not address the assault weapon issue.

by CNB