Missourians react to expiration of federal assault weapons ban

ST. LOUIS -- City officials called the expiration of a 10-year federal assault weapons ban a blow to public safety Monday, even as gun shop owners around Missouri insisted similar weapons already were legally available.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay called on citizens to seek a vote in Washington, D.C. During a news conference at police headquarters, both he and St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa said the ban had made the public and officers safer, and should be reinstated.

Mokwa spoke of three St. Louis officers who had been hit with assault-style weapons in the past. He rejected the argument that the weapons' selling prices, beginning at several hundred dollars, meant they only would be sought out by legitimate buyers.

"It's implausible to take the attitude that a criminal can't afford these guns," he said. He said the ban's elimination will mean more of the weapons on the market. Mokwa said criminals with past convictions will find other people to buy the weapons for them or steal them.

Several Missouri gun shop owners said they had fielded a few phone calls about the changes, but most said they were not expecting a significant uptick in business.

However, Denny Foutch, owner of Denny's Guns in North Kansas City, said he had 50 Web site orders when he arrived Monday morning -- several of them for previously banned accessories.

Normally, he said he has 12 or 15 orders.

Among the items customers inquired about are previously banned collapsable butts, which allow the shooter to adjust the length of the butt to his or her own physique, he said.

"I think the original ban was feel-good legislation," he said. "I think it didn't do anything. The weapons were produced but without the banned features."

Some gun shop owners said it was not yet clear what manufacturers plan to offer now that the ban has been lifted.

Lee Worster, owner of G.U.N.S. Unlimited Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., said he'd talked to customers trying to sort out the changes, though he hadn't gotten any immediate orders or sales. "It's not a mad rush like they were anticipating," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City contributed to this report.