American Notes GUNS

The Bush Administration's July 1989 ban on the importation of rapid-fire assault-style rifles always seemed ineffectual. It mainly protected domestic gunmakers from competition. Last week the ban seemed still more illusory. The | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms announced that it could not prevent imports of guns like AK-47s if they were redesigned to remove military-style features such as large-capacity magazines, flash suppressors and bayonets. Such changes may make the rifles less deadly, but buyers can turn the guns into people killers with easy-to-get kits. Manufacturers, says Josh Sugarmann, director of the Firearms Policy Project, have "left the guts of an assault weapon." Imports of modified rifles have not begun, but one company plans to start soon.