Sen. Joe Manchin: Between Obama and the NRA, another path to stopping mass violence

Washington Post ^ | December 21, 2012 | Joe Manchin III

[neverdem]

In the days after the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Conn., I made it clear that I believe it is time for us to move from rhetoric to action to prevent future acts of senseless mass violence.

Since then, much has been made of those comments — some of it accurately reflecting what I said, some not. Because I am an A-rated, lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and a proud defender of the Second Amendment, some people viewed my comments as a tipping point in the debate about guns in America.

The true tipping point, of course, is what happened in that elementary school on Dec. 14 — the unimaginable slaughter of 20 children and the teachers and staff members who were defending them. When children die tragically, it rips at our very hearts. Even in our grief, we demand a reckoning.

That reckoning is now upon us, and we owe it to those children and their families to take it seriously. As a nation, we must reconsider the treatment of the mentally ill. We must challenge a popular culture that accepts stomach-churning violence in our movies and video games. We must look at the use of high-capacity ammunition magazines and military-style assault weapons.

Committed gun owners like me can and must listen to reasonable ideas about preventing mass violence. But whatever steps we take must be comprehensive — and must bring the entertainment industry and mental health community to the table. We cannot snap our fingers, push one-track legislation that focuses exclusively on guns and pat ourselves on the back. Such an approach certainly won’t fare well in Congress. More important, it won’t fully address the problem...

[Nowhere Man]

The 2nd Amendment ain’t about duck hunting. It is there to protect us against tyrants.

[GreatMan]

FL

[Nowhere Man]

If the citizens are forced to give up semi-autos and “high-capacity” magazines, then so should all the law enforcement agencies. The gun-grabbers’ mantra is that semi-autos are for the sole purpose of killing a large number of people at one time. Well, then, the obvious question — since the gun-grabbers think it’s such a good idea for the police to have semi-autos — is just what large number of people are the police looking to kill at one time? Who specifically comprise that group of people?

Agreed, I posted that in another thread. I'd also extend the ban to the military too. We might have to bring back the Trapdoor Springfield and the .30-40 Krag. B-P

[ought-six]

Hmmmm. I like the trapdoor Springields, both the Long Tom (.45-70) and the carbine (.45-55), but for nostalgia purposes more than anything else. The .30-40 Krag was a POS, that’s why we didn’t keep it in the armory very long (especially after the Spanish-American War where the Spaniards were kicking our butts with their 8mm Mausers).