2004: Romney signs off on permanent assault weapons ban

Right Scoop ^ | February 4th, 2012

[SoConPubbie]

Andrew Kaczynski dug up this Romney press release today from the Web Archive, showing that he signed off on a permanent Assault Weapons ban in 2004:

In a move that will help keep the streets and neighborhoods of Massachusetts safe, Governor Mitt Romney today signed into law a permanent assault weapons ban that forever makes it harder for criminals to get their hands on these dangerous guns.

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said, at a bill signing ceremony with legislators, sportsmen’s groups and gun safety advocates. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

Like the federal assault weapons ban, the state ban, put in place in 1998, was scheduled to expire in September. The new law ensures these deadly weapons, including AK-47s, UZIs and Mac-10 rifles, are permanently prohibited in Massachusetts no matter what happens on the federal level.

“We are pleased to mark an important victory in the fight against crime,” said Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. “The most important job of state government is ensuring public safety. Governor Romney and I are determined to do whatever it takes to stop the flood of dangerous weapons into our cities and towns and to make Massachusetts safer for law-abiding citizens.”

The new law also makes a number of improvements to the current gun licensing system, including: •Extending the term of a firearm identification card and a license to carry firearms from four years to six years; •Granting a 90-day grace period for holders of firearm identification cards and licenses to carry who have applied for renewal; and •Creating a seven-member Firearm License Review Board to review firearm license applications that have been denied.

“This is truly a great day for Massachusetts’ sportsmen and women,” said Senator Stephen M. Brewer. “These reforms correct some serious mistakes that were made during the gun debate in 1998, when many of our state’s gun owners were stripped of their long-standing rights to own firearms. I applaud Senate President Travaglini for allowing the Senate to undertake this necessary legislation.”

“I want to congratulate everyone that has worked so hard on this issue,” said Representative George Peterson. “Because of their dedication, we are here today to sign into law this consensus piece of legislation. This change will go a long way toward fixing the flaws created by the 1998 law. Another key piece to this legislation addresses those citizens who have applied for renewals. If the government does not process their renewal in a timely fashion, those citizens won’t be put at risk because of the 90 day grace period that is being adopted today.”

“Never before has there been such bi-partisan cooperation in the passage of gun safety legislation of this magnitude in this nation,” said John Rosenthal, co-founder and chair of Stop Handgun Violence. “I applaud the leadership of the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker and entire Legislature for passage of this assault weapons ban renewal. They have shown that Massachusetts can continue to lead the nation in protecting the public and law enforcement from military style assault weapons.”

[SoConPubbie]

"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton
"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan
"A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Send this to Ted Nugent.

[brownsfan]

Yeah, if we’re going to have someone grab guns, may as well be Obama, right?

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Glenn Beck has been playing Ted Nugent clips as bumper music this morning.

His latest was “Dog dog, dog eat dog...”, with the suggested t-shirt reading:

Romney 2012 : At least he didn’t eat his dog.

Lol.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

"I was wondering if you wouldn't consider using your extensive research and posting skills to find and post something negative about Obama? No? How about any democrat? Romney will be the Republican nominee."

I encourage soconpubbie to continue beating the TRUTH about RINOmney like a drum line. He is not making things up. He is posting facts about Willard.

Willard is not the nominee yet. Why do you want to close your eyes to facts?

[equaviator]

Maybe Mitt Romney IS too rich to be able to relate...to advocates of constitutional gun rights!

[JRandomFreeper]

I am actively campaigning against ALL of the liberals. Including Romney.

I am a conservative, on a conservative forum, saying that I will never vote for or support a liberal. Including a liberal with an R beside their name.

This is NOT a republican forum.

Take your hogwash elsewhere.

/johnny

[OldNavyVet]

Romney will be the Republican nominee.

Not if I can help it ... Sarah Palin tore into RINO's in Alaska and she's my choice for the GOP presidential nomination.

Romney might be a nice man, most Mormons are; but being common-sense right is far more important in US Presidents.

[Logical me]

Romney is a damn fool. His belief that the only ones to have assault rifles are the criminals and law enforcement. That is one hell of a cross fire to be in.

[SoConPubbie]

I was wondering if you wouldn't consider using your extensive research and posting skills to find and post something negative about Obama? No? How about any democrat? Romney will be the Republican nominee. None of your posts are going to stop that. What they will do is drive people away from FR to other boards where "moles" such as yourself are not so readily tolerated.

Jim, I understand your problem with Romney and your desire to destroy him. I just hope that you don't destroy FR in the process by allowing posters such as this one such wide latitude.

First off, the only moles at FreeRepublic are those working to nominate a lying, left-wing, Progressive Liberal like Mitt Romney, like yourself, when only 46% of the delegates have been won.

How can I, or anyone else, destroy FreeRepublic by posting the TRUTH about Mitt Romney?

Especially when the stated purpose of this website is the support and promotion of conservative principles, which, by the way, Mitt Romney has none!

[SoConPubbie]

Jim, I understand your problem with Romney and your desire to destroy him. I just hope that you don't destroy FR in the process by allowing posters such as this one such wide latitude.

Just in case you have forgotten, here is a comparison of Mitt Romney, against Obama and Newt.

Do you see how Romney's record matches Obama's?

Do you see how Newt's record is the exact opposite?

These are the things you should be promoting, not some nonsense about how posting the truth about Romney is going to "destroy" FreeRepublic.

[Lady4Liberty]

"Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts. These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people." - Mitt Romney

***

"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all."" -- President Ronald Reagan

[backwoods-engineer]

What they will do is drive people away from FR to other boards where "moles" such as yourself are not so readily tolerated. Jim, I understand your problem with Romney and your desire to destroy him. I just hope that you don't destroy FR in the process by allowing posters such as this one such wide latitude.

IBTZ. Jim has a very short fuse for Romney-cheerleading these days.

And I'm glad. Romney is not the nominee yet. And if he is, I will not vote for him, and nor will many other FReepers.

I am a small-r republican. I want to get back to a Constitutional republic. The so-called Republican party wants power and a larger government. I am not a member.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

People want to vote for Romney should consider New York city which is now a city run 100% under Despotism. How did this happen? Simple, a rich liberal disguised himself as a Republican and basically made the city his own personal ant farm where the constitution doesn't exist (except for out of state OWS protestors and Mulims who want to cause the 911 families grief) where individual freedoms, property rights, even freedom of speech has all been thrown out the window. All that matters is the Despot Mike Bloomberg and his daily edicts like today where is demanding all apartment building owners to make a list of all the apartments that have smoking....You know, like the Nazis use to do "Make a list of all the Jews in your tenement". A few months ago he tried to ban booze ala prohibition until he realized he would cause a riot and backed down

. This is what people are going to get with Romney. Like Bloomberg, Romney will lie, say anything, spend any kind of money to get elected . And once he does, watch out.

[duffee]

I’m sure many of us will find time to do that when the Republican nomination is locked up. Now it’s incumbent for us to find a nominee who we can trust and who can get elected. Romney doesn’t meet these standards. Romney needs 1144 solid confirmed delegates, I don’t think he’s going to get them.

[Jack Burton007]

There’s a solution to your problems, leave.

This forum is for conservatives, not RINO promoters.

If you are in the bag for Romney then that’s your burden to bear. Don’t expect the rest of us to sell out like you did.

I’m supporting Newt and will not waste my vote on Romney even if it means Obama wins. At least we won’t have a RINO in there doing the same thing Obama would do and watching him destroy America and the Republican party.

You’ll not find much support here for your Romney BS.

If it comes down to fighting for our country it is best that we unite against a liberal Democrat to wage war and not a liberal Republican.

[CodeToad]