Amid a flurry of political conflict, the 10-year-old ban on 19 military-style assault weapons, including firearms like the AK-47, Uzi and TEC-9, expired Monday.

A recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania showed two-thirds of Americans and one-third of the National Rifle Association members support the ban.

The Republican-controlled Congress, with the endorsement of the NRA, chose not to renew the ban, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

While Washington politicians exchange blows over the ban, local communities like Eau Claire are preparing for the law change.

Jack Corey, community relations officer for the Eau Claire Police Department, is just one of many police officers who could find themselves dealing directly with the now-legal weapons, a fact he said he is not overjoyed by. “Our stand would be that we want all ‘assault weapons’ off the street,” Corey said.

“It’s a danger to us to have those weapons out there,” Corey said. “If you don’t have to reload, then the more damage you can do in a short amount of time.”

Wisconsin and the Midwest have always had a tradition of hunters and sportsmen, and UW-Eau Claire is no exception. To these student gun owners, this issue is particularly meaningful.

Junior Kyle Dahlen, a hunter, gun owner and president of the Eau Claire Rod and Gun Club, is one such student. While he prefaced his comments by saying he spoke only for himself, and not for the members of his club, he voiced his support of the ban. “I personally think it is in our best interest to have those weapons banned,” Dahlen said.

Dahlen, who expressed sympathy and understanding with gun owners who opposed the ban, pointed out that to many, this represented the larger issue of the Constitutional right to bear arms. “The Second Amendment is something we (sportsmen) hold very dear,” Dahlen said.

Despite his support of gun rights, Dahlen pointed out that in the case of assault weapons, it is important to address the safety concerns of society and adjust to those needs.

Those who supported lifting the ban say there is no connection between crime and assault weapons.

“We need to remember that the reason they wanted to use the ban was to prevent crime, and it hasn’t worked,” said Autumn Fogg, spokeswoman for the NRA.

Tom Gilbert, manager of Gilbert’s Gun Exchange, 3330 N. Town Hall Road, agrees with Fogg. He does not think that the ban helped to make the country safer.

He explained that the ban was widely misrepresented and did nothing to prevent the sale of the weapons in question, just the manufacturing of them, and the sale of accessories.

Gilbert added the law only punished law-abiding gun owners who had no intent of using them maliciously while ignoring the problem of gun possession amongst criminals. Corey said that lifting the ban makes it easier for criminals to acquire assault weapons. “The criminal element tends to steal them, so if you don’t have them, they can’t get them,” Corey said.

Gilbert went on to defend the weapons in question. He said the guns pose no greater threat than the weapons hunters use. “In form and function, the AK-47 is no different than the semi-automatic hunting rifles,” Gilbert said.

He predicts the change in the law will have few effects on the store’s sales. “This might create a little rush for things that were banned, but nothing huge,” Gilbert said.

Fogg said the NRA viewed the ban as a direct assault on the Second Amendment.

“We need to continue the fight to support the Second Amendment.”