"The time has come for politicians to decide," said Rendell at the City Hall news conference attended by top police brass and state elected officials. "You have to decide whether you're on their side - the men and women who wear blue - or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby."

The federal assault-weapons ban, which lasted from 1994 through 2004, outlawed an array of military weapons and semi-automatics that fire and automatically reload when the trigger is pulled.

The expired bill would not have outlawed the Chinese-made SKS Carbine - outfitted with a 30-round detachable magazine - used to kill Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski Saturday.

But a new version of the legislation, currently languishing in the House of Representatives, specifically lists "SKS with detachable magazine" as a banned weapon.

Supporters of the federal ban said that the restrictions made it harder to obtain illegal weapons. But critics argued that loopholes in the ban made it easy to modify deadly guns to keep them legal.

Rendell and Nutter have sent a letter to the state's representatives and senators in Washington. In it, they ask for a new assault-weapons ban, but do not back a specific piece of legislation.

Nutter said that the city just needs help.

"Those weapons have one goal and use in mind," Nutter said. "They are to destroy human beings and do it as quickly and as dangerously and in as devastating a fashion as possible. I stand here with Governor Rendell and members of the general assembly to ask for help. Our state and federal legislators need to pass laws that protect citizens and do not protect criminals."

Two local legislators are already showing their support. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah co-sponsored the new version of the assault-weapons ban. And U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak this week added his name to the list of co-sponsors.

Sestak said that after the Liczbinski slaying he decided to see if he could "bring a light to a piece of legislation that hasn't been moving around. Let's add our name to it and try to move this further down the road."

Nutter also criticized the National Rifle Association, saying they should support this effort.

"The National Rifle Association must explain to the public how they can stand behind criminals who have access to these kind of weapons while purporting to protect the Second Amendment right," he said.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said it was "sad to see [Rendell and Nutter] stoop to this level to exploit the death of a police officer."

He said that new laws weren't needed. Instead he questioned why someone like accused killer Eric Floyd - who has a long criminal history and fled a halfway house earlier this year - was out on the street.

"The most important thing for residents in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is to ask their governor and their mayor what career criminals are doing out on the street," he said. "The problem in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is violent criminals get multiple chances."

Yesterday's news conference grew contentious when a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter questioned whether the SKS Carbine was technically an assault weapon, noting that the National Rifle Association disagreed with the classification and that a search on www.wikipedia.com brought up information saying it was not.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey then got into the mix.

"I don't care about Wikipedia or any other kind of pedias," he said. "If it's not an assault weapon by definition, then add it to the freaking list."

Meanwhile, gun-control advocacy group CeaseFire PA sent a letter to Pennsylvania gun-shop owners Wednesday, asking them to voluntarily stop selling the SKS Carbine. Nutter and Rendell said that they supported the effort.

Fred Delia, 69, owner of Delia's Gun Shop, on Torresdale Avenue near Benner Street, sells the weapon. He said he would not honor such a request.

"I don't want to see any of the police get shot," Delia said. But, he added, "them guns have been sold for the last 20 years."

Delia, who has run his shop for 39 years, said gun-shop owners are being unfairly targeted.

"I understand they're getting mad in the city," he said. "They have to get to the source of this. It's drugs, it's judges." *