BY JAKE THOMPSON
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Incidents of gun violence in recent years have prompted cities and states to enact tougher gun laws, but Congress has approved no new national restrictions on guns.

Those on both sides of the debate say that the power of the gun lobby and a lack of public outrage dampened any push for new national restrictions.

"What's amazing to me is that with all the shootings from Columbine down to Westroads, there's been no national discussion about gun control," said Nebraska State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha.

Ashford, chairman of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, hopes to start a state conversation. He is proposing legislation that would require gun owners to report lost or stolen guns to police…

Supporters of gun rights say Americans aren't clamoring for additional national restrictions, because many support gun ownership.

All but two states, Illinois and Wisconsin, now allow some form of licensed or permitted carrying of concealed weapons.

"That's the best defense against dirtbags like the one who did the shootings in Omaha," said Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America in Springfield, Va. "You provide protection yourself."

His group is working to overturn some state and local gun restrictions around the country, arguing that those limits could cost lives by preventing law-abiding citizens from thwarting attacks.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey said he would do what he could to promote Ashford's legislative proposal and that he favors additional national gun restrictions.

"It's common sense. For God's sake, lock these guns up. And people should be held responsible for them," said Fahey, one of 160 members of a national Mayors Against Illegal Guns group.

Fahey blames the National Rifle Association for blocking a number of proposed gun limits.

"I think any time you even threaten any type of restrictions on guns, the NRA calls in all the markers. And they've been extremely influential around the country," he said.

The NRA has contributed more than $4.6 million to members of Congress since 2000, federal campaign spending reports show.

Fahey and Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren support reinstating a 10-year federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.

Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said that in Omaha's case, the proposed assault weapons ban wouldn't have stopped Hawkins, who he noted had stolen the rifle.

"The criminal intent on committing a heinous crime is not going to be deterred by a gun control law," he said.

Fahey doesn't agree and would like Congress to require that trigger locks be sold with every gun so that, ideally, only owners could use the guns. He also said Congress should close the gun show loophole, which enables private individuals to sell guns at gun shows without conducting criminal background checks.

It might be easier to get Congress to provide more funding so that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could trace weapons and go after illegal buyers, Fahey said.

Warren said there's a need nationally to address the rising number of young people who are "more aggressive and more brazen" in using guns to commit crimes. But that may happen first on a local or state level, he said.

At least five major cities - New York, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio - have banned the sale of semiautomatic assault-style rifles or pistols. So do seven states, according to the Legal Community Against Violence, a group of lawyers working to curb gun violence.

Five cities and six states ban large-capacity ammunition clips, and four states and six cities require a license or permit to purchase firearms.

California recently began requiring "microstamping" so that fired casings carry the make, model and serial number of the gun.

California, Colorado and Alabama require mental health data to be posted on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database used by licensed gun sellers. The information is shared nationwide.

Missouri, Illinois and Virginia recently moved to add records to the database about individuals the courts have found mentally ill or a threat to themselves or others because of mental impairment.

Connecticut recently approved a law requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to police.

In Washington, D.C., it's a different story.

After the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in which several of the handguns used were purchased at gun shows, federal legislation was proposed to require all gun sellers at gun shows to do criminal background checks on buyers. The bill squeaked through the Senate, then died in the House.

In 2003, Congress made it harder to track gun violence. The then-Republican-run Congress barred the federal government from releasing data on the kinds of firearms used in shootings.

Then, in 2004, Congress allowed the assault weapons ban to expire. It had banned the sale of certain semiautomatic assault-style firearms.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., proposed a new bill this year that would reinstate the assault weapons ban and expand it to include more rifles and pistols. It wouldn't win more than 130 House votes today and would fail in the Senate, she said.

McCarthy, who ran for Congress after her husband, Dennis, and five other people were fatally shot 14 years ago on a commuter railroad, said Congress probably won't take up the issue of gun violence unless pressured by the public.

"I don't know what it's going to take for the American people to stand up and say 'We can do better,' " she said. "After every major shooting, I think 'Now is the time people will wake up.' "

All five members of Nebraska's congressional delegation are opposed to renewing the assault weapons ban.

After the Westroads shootings, Nebraska Reps. Lee Terry, Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith, all Republicans, made speeches in the House to address the tragedy and offer condolences to the victims and their families. None said anything about changing gun laws.

Smith said he opposes the assault weapons ban legislation because "gun control doesn't work."

"Someone wishing to cause harm, if they can't acquire it (a gun) legally, they acquire it illegally," he said.

Terry declined a request for an interview on the subject. He released a statement saying he had heard of "absolutely no plan" to debate the assault rifle ban.

Gun violence is a serious problem, Fortenberry said. "However, it is important to note that the underlying factors of the Omaha tragedy appear to be severe mental illness and the collapse of a support system. No weapons ban can address these factors."

After 32 people were fatally shot at Virginia Tech in April by a mentally unstable student, Seung Hui Cho, who then killed himself, McCarthy introduced legislation providing financial incentives for states to post mental health information on the crime background database. It was approved by the House and is pending in the Senate.

Nina Vinik of the Legal Community Against Violence said local pressure may eventually prompt federal action.

"People wonder 'How do we make malls safer, or schools or other public places?'" she said. "That's the wrong question. It should be, 'How do we make guns more difficult to get for people who shouldn't have access to them?' Guns are just too easy to get in this country."