Posted on 09/13/2004 10:39:07 AM PDT by ZULU
Will somebody tell these idiots these guns have been available for the LAST TEN YEARS of the SO CALLED BAN with cosmetic changes ( no flash supressor on bayonet lug etc )
And they tout the fact crime went down
If I remember correctly, what happened was the New Jersey Republicans took over the Legislature in Florio's mid-term and passed a bill repealing Florio's Assault Rifle Ban.
The nasty little ex-pugilist Florio took to the airwaves and attacked the New Jersey Republicans and he vetoed their repeal bill. The New Jersey Repubs HAD the votes to override Florio's veto of his assault rifle ban, but before the vote was due, they had a secret little conclave. When the conclave was over, they decided not to override. What happened in the smoke-filled rooms of the New Jersey Republican Party where they all lost their testacles is beyond me. They went in as men and walked out as capons.
My guess is some Rockefeller Republicans talked them out of the repeal - people like the Keans, Senator Bob Martin, etc.
But I'm only guessing. Only the fly on wall knows for sure, but the real point is Florio glared and they flinched.
When Chrissie Whitman, the ex-NRA poster girl was elected, she staunchly refused to support any pro-gun legislation and refused to state she veto any new anti-gun laws.
McGreevey is probably skipping down to the nearest bathhouse right now to start interviewing for the position of "NJ Assault Weapons Violence Prevention Director".
I still have some close friends in New Jersey since a left a few years ago, so I stay WELL IN CONTACT with the problems there.
The people in other states frequently fail to realize that a lot of the bad ideas that appear in New Jersey eventually surface to pollute the rest of the nation.
Florio's Assault Rifle ban is one, the Smart gun research contnuing as we speak at NJIT, paid for with taxpayer money is another, and Mount Laurel mayu very well be a third.
Tom Kean is a fourth - Bush's slection of him to head the 9-1-1 Commission was a catastrophic error.
Where I grew up they prefere machette's, ice-picks, and baseball bats. Doesn't matter what kind of ballistic vest your sporting if you get your arm cut off with a machette or stabbed through your vest with an icepick after the perp is subdued.
I agree most criminals prefere hand guns, easy to hide and get rid of afterwards.
"Assault weapons are military weapons. Their hallmarks include a high ammunition capacity; features to enhance control during rapid firing; and devices that make them easier to conceal or carry. The Governor pointed out that these features make assault weapons useful for committing crimes, but provide no legitimate use except military use".
What the hell does this FOOL think that the citizen militia mentioned in the second amendment gears supposed to use?Spit Balls?!!!
Gun grabbers are increasingly trying to separate the right to keep and bear arms from its constitutional underpinnings. To everyone but liberals and gun grabbers the word militia implies a body organized for military use. The Supreme Court Miller decision of 1939 held that the militia was 'A body of citizens enrolled for military discipline.' And further that ordinarily when called for service these men were expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time."
To begin with, only the national government was represented at the trial. With nobody arguing to the contrary, the court followed standard court procedure and assumed that the law was constitutional until proven otherwise. If both sides were present, the outcome may have been much different.
However, since only one party showed up, the case will stand in the court records as is. As to the militia, Mr. Justice McReynolds related the beliefs of the Founding Fathers when commenting historically about the Second Amendment. He stated that, ". . .The common view was that adequate defense of country and laws could be secured through the militia- civilians primarily, soldiers on occasion.
"The significance attributed to the term Militia appears from the debates in the Convention, the history and legislation of Colonies and States, and the writings of approved commentators. These show plainly enough that the Militia comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense.
It is clear that the firearms that are most suited for modern-day militia use are those semi automatic military pattern weapons that the yellow press calls "assault weapons". Since nations such as the Swiss trust their citizenry with true selective fire assault rifles, it seems to me that this country ought to be at least able to trust its law-abiding citizenry with the semi automatic version.
Self-defense is a vital corollary benefit of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. But its primary constitutional reason for being is for service in the well-regulated militia which is necessary to the security of a free state. WE must be prepared to maintain that security against even our own forces that are responding to the orders of a tyrannical government, and the only viable way to counter a standing army's qualitative advantage is with a huge quantitative one. Don't let the gun grabbers and their politician allies separate us from the constitutional reason for the right to keep and bear arms. Miltary pattern weapons are precisly the weapons that should be MOST constitutionally protected. Even defenders of the right often neglect the constitutional aspect of it, and concentrate on their near non-existent use in crime.
Gun grabbers love to haul out their straw man argument of tanks, howitzers, bazookas, flame throwers, satchel charges, whenever we defenders of the constitution reference the type of modern day INDIVIDUAL military small arm protected by Amendment #2.
Now let's address the gun grabber straw man. We need to make those type of CREW SERVED weapons available at some level to the well regulated (meaning well trained, organized and disciplined) militia that is formed as a military unit to meet whatever threat that it is appropriate for them to use such weapons as a unit. These weapons would be maintained and stored for use by such units as a formed body.
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