Dole Uncertain About Repealing Weapons Ban

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole is backing away from an earlier call for quick repeal of a 1994 ban on assault weapons, according to a published report.

The Boston Globe reported in today’s editions that it asked Dole this week if he would vote to lift the ban. Dole declined to say whether he’d vote to do so. “This isn’t a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ issue,” the Kansas Republican said.

Dole had promised last March to make a vote on repealing the assault weapons ban a top legislative priority this past summer.

But since then, both Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich have said such a vote is unlikely because of the crowded congressional calendar.

The ban prohibits the manufacturing and importing of 19 assault weapons.