The suspect was wanted for a handgu...

The suspect was wanted for a handgun attack that left pair federal officers wounded. In May, FBI agents in Green-belt, Md institute him. As they approached to arrest him, he uncloseed fire, this time with an assault weapon. undivided of the agents was instantly killed.

For a number of local law enforcement agents, this incident crystalized their support for the assault weapons ban that was central to the Clinton Administration's 1994 crime bill. That provision is now in subordination to attack.

"It's a matter of survival for [police] officers," says Sean Kirkendall, legislative assistant for the International Association of Police Chiefs (IAPC), in Alexandria, Va.

Efforts to the weapons ban are oppos by the agency of virtually every law enforcement form into groups in the country, as well as the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities and the United States conversation of Mayors. In fact, the National Rifle Association's support