Paraskevidekatriaphobia. What a mouthful.

It means fear of Friday the 13th. Folklorist and urban myth master David Emery suggests that it’s probably the most widespread superstition in the United States.

Today, of course, is Friday, Aug. 13. And while Emery writes that fewer people will go to work today and we shouldn’t expect too many weddings, there’s really nothing to be afraid of.

On Monday, Sept. 13, however, the country faces a serious and real risk. On that day, the 1994 ban on assault weapons is set to expire.

Congress shouldn’t allow that to happen. Unfortunately, it probably will.

A majority of Americans support keeping the ban in place. Police departments from around Maine and around the country support it. And President Bush has said he would sign legislation to extend the ban, although his support seems shallow at best.

But Congress, controlled by Republicans in the grips of the gun lobby, is unlikely to act. Gun makers are already lining up shipments to dealers and stores, ready to cash in as soon as the law expires.

AK-47s, Uzis and other military-style semiautomatic weapons have a single purpose: to kill people. They have no place on our streets or in our neighborhoods. They have no practical sporting purpose. And America, despite a culture of fear that has stained the country even before the attacks of Sept. 11, is not so dangerous that citizens should be barricaded in their homes, highly armed and waiting for the invasion that will never come.

We don’t expect leaders in the House of Representatives to buck the National Rifle Association so close to an election. But their inaction threatens to harm the entire country and they should be held accountable.

Superstitions surrounding the number 13 date back thousands of years and can be found in cultures as diverse as Viking myths and Hindu legends. Triskaidekaphobia is the psychological term for the fear of 13.

If the assault weapon ban is allowed to expire on Sept. 13, maybe we’ll need a new term for a real problem, gunsrunamokaphobia: a fear of heavily armed men and women stashing AK-47s in their trunks and under their beds – just in case.