The Dubious and Doomed 'Assault Weapon' Ban That the House Approved Today May Cost Democrats This Fall

Reason ^ | 7.29.2022 | JACOB SULLUM

[absalom01]

The House of Representatives today approved H.R 1808, which would ban the production and sale of "assault weapons," including semi-automatic rifles with features such as pistol grips, folding or adjustable stocks, barrel shrouds, and threaded barrels. It also would ban a long list of specific models by name.

The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 217 to 213, has no chance in the evenly divided Senate, where support from at least 10 Republicans would be required to overcome a filibuster. House approval of H.R. 1808 is therefore a symbolic act aimed at energizing Democrats and encouraging them to vote in this fall's elections. But several House Democrats, whose objections nearly derailed today's vote, worried that it would hurt their party's candidates more than it would help them. In the end, five Democrats joined all but two Republicans in voting against the bill.

The fear that today's gesture could alienate more voters than it attracts seems rational given what happened after Congress approved similar legislation in 1994: Democrats lost control of the House and Senate. Polling data provide further reason to think that the House vote to revive the ban, which expired in 2004, could be politically perilous.

  ...

"Last time, we didn't necessarily define 'semi-automatic [assault weapon]' very well," Cooper told Politico. Nor does the new, supposedly improved version of the ban.

Like H.R. 1808, the 1994 ban covered a bunch of listed models, along with "copies" of them. Also like H.R. 1808, it included a more general definition of prohibited rifles, which hinged on the presence or absence of five features: a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a grenade launcher, or a "flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor." ..."

[absalom01]

The guy who coined the term "assualt weapon", Josh Sugarmann of the "Violence Policy Center" did the left a solid by coming up with the catchy term that actually has no meaning.

This time around, the Dems are once again shooting themselves in the foot by pandering to the AWFULs (Affluent White Female Urban Liberals), and hoping that gun owners won't notice.

This is dumb. It's hard to get gun owners to vote sometimes, but when we perceive that our rights are under active threat, we become the most motivated of voters.

[Salvavida]

Not if they count the votes.

[gov_bean_ counter]

But assault abortions are ok…

[Noumenon]

I hate these monsters with a radiant, sun-hot passion.

[ought-six]

“... the Dems are once again shooting themselves in the foot by pandering to the AWFULs (Affluent White Female Urban Liberals)...”

Oh, I like it (”AWFULs). You didn’t copyright it, did you?

[metmom]

If only…..

[absalom01]

Nope, stole it from Michael Malice!

[antidemoncrat]

The Democrats are finally coming out of the woodwork and saying an assault weapon is any semi-automatic weapon and should be banned. This first. Then any weapon that holds six rounds and then any shot gun that holds more the 2 rounds should be banned. Then the rest will be confiscated.

[frank ballenger]

Not if they count the votes.

What? Try something new? An honest, fairly counted election----it's never gonna catch on.

[SuperLuminal]

"... May Cost Democrats This Fall"

Probably have to wait and see what the Soros & Bezos response is...
Until we actually see how all those votes already counted & stored in the church, school, and liquor store basements turn out at 4 AM on November 7th...

[TokarevM57]

....”....a more general definition of prohibited rifles, which hinged on the presence or absence of five features: a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a grenade launcher, or a “flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor.” ...”

In addition, these assault weapons of war [sic] are most often painted black..! they have those detachable clips things [sic] that hold lotsa and lotsa bullets [sic] and them things was what we used in the VeetNam war, right, and the AR stands for ASSAULT RIFLE!! and they are just SCARY LOOKING, so logically, they need to be banned...!!

(P.S., sh*theads, you can take my beloved AR-15 out of my cold dead hands..... as we say here in The Lone Star State, MOLON LABE - “Come and take it”.....!!)

[absalom01]

Well, yeah, but this isn’t really the time to get blackpilled, IMHO.

Make ‘em work for it.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

If only that pesky Constitution was abolished.
Nobody needs weapons of war, well except Ukraine right?

They wouldn’t be trying to ban self defense if they didn’t have a reason to fear us.

[combat_boots]

Communist Chinese wanting our land

OBiden bringing in Taliban, Ukrainian, and other military aged men, and permitting cartels to seize blocks of our border and urban areas. Prisons emptied into the US, and people with diseases.

The gov’t wants and legislated that citizens disarm.

I take it the Congress thinks they and their families will escape. They’re wrong.

[absalom01]

Don’t forget about the “shoulder thing that goes up”.

That’s especially deadly.

[cranked]

This will have no impact on them rolling street ballot drop boxes, nor will it effect the UPS’s ability to carry bags upon bags of forged and fake ballots across state line after midnight, etc.

The fix is in.

[Salman]

The previous "normal" concept of winning or losing elections perhaps no longer applies?

At any rate the Dems are acting like that's the case.

[Howie66]

I sure as hell hope that it costs KEVIN McCARTHY his seat as well. That worthless little twerp couldn’t manage to reign in TWO FOOKIN’ RINOs from voting FOR this UNCONSTITUTIONAL POS!

We cannot afford to see KEVIN McCARTHY become HOUSE SPEAKER if we actually have something close to “FREE, OPEN and HONEST” Elections this November. And there is no guarantee of that happening.

[absalom01]

This is not a winning issue for them this cycle, IMHO. Motivation is going to be incredibly important, and resurrecting the hated 1994 AWB is just the thing to get the RKBA voter to the polls.

[piytar]

Who are the two turncoat Republicans? (Probably already listed down thread.)