Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/MariaValera

This study examines the effects (especially on violent and drug-trafficking crimes) of the bans on the manufacture, transfer, and possession of designated semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The analysis considers potential ban effects on primary and secondary gun markets, on assault weapons' uses in crime, and on the lethal consequences of assault weapons' use.

This report details the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) response to the major 1994 earthquake in southern California. It documents the policy response to the earthquake, synthesizes the evaluative impressions of individuals involved in formulating and implementing those policies, and distills the potential lessons and unresolved issues that will be of value for future disaster response. Also discussed is HUD's rapid development of three new policies for emergency relief—the Section 8 Emergency Certificate Program, the Mobility Program, and the HELP Program. An appendix presents a content analysis that examines the role played by five local newspapers played in shaping, documenting, and influencing HUD's efforts.

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