A ban against certain types of assault weapons has expired, but gun advocates say little will change.

The ban, initiated 10 years ago during the Clinton administration, expired Sept. 13. The ban forbade gun attachments such as magazines that hold more bullets and allow the gun to be fired automatically. Legislators classified guns with such attachments as assault weapons.

Local gun merchants have not seen an increase in business and do not expect to see any substantial change as a result of the ban’s expiration.

“[Business] probably won’t change much. It’s kind of a big to-do about nothing,” said Debbie Cox, owner of Mosher Gun Shop, 9445 Keslinger Road.

The guns’ appearance, not their operation, was about the only thing changed during the ban, Cox said.

“Basically, the configuration they were built in changed. I’ve gotten a couple of phone calls [since Sept. 13] but not a lot has changed and I don’t really expect it to that much,” Cox said.

Dave Workman, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms of Washington state, said the ban had little effect in the fight against guns.

“Federal studies have strongly shown that the ban never really accomplished anything. It was just a piece of feel-good legislation,” Workman said.

Many illegal firearms were in use during the ban, Workman said. If the ban had been strictly carried out, little would have changed for gun enthusiasts.

“The ban was primarily on the cosmetics of the gun. We’re definitely not sorry to see it go, though,” Workman said.

Others were upset to see the Senate allowed the ban to expire.

“The ban definitely had its flaws, but when something is scheduled to expire, there is usually a discussion about it,” said Tom Mannard, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

Mannard said he believes the Senate should have extended and improved the ban. Mannard cited the failure of the old ban to forbid magazines that enabled a gun owner to load more bullets in a firearm but not fire automatically. Mannard said a gun’s bullet capacity should not be enhanced.

“They just let the damn thing go away without any discussion. To let it not be dealt with is a complete slap in the face, whether you support the ban or not,” Mannard said.

A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International and sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America, a non-profit public policy watch group, indicated that two-thirds of the public supported extending the ban.