Shields and Gigot analyze the political ramifications of the House vote to repeal the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban legislation. . An Online NewsHour Backgrounder on Law and Order . Now domestic violence and the law. The Denver Police Force is grappling with some unexpected fallout from the new federal gun control law. Betty Ann Bowser reports.
Every police officer knows one of the most powerful weapons against crime is a gun.
But under a new amendment to the Federal Gun Control Act, two Denver police officers have been forced to turn in their guns because they both have domestic violence convictions. Passed by Congress in September of last year, the amendment makes it illegal for anyone convinced of a domestic violence misdemeanor to possess a firearm. Congress approved the ban on firearms ownership for persons convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors. The Denver Police Department responded almost immediately, becoming the first in the nation to bring its force into compliance. The two officers had to surrender their guns and take temporary desk jobs.