Assault Weapons Ban Picks Up GOP Support

Yahoo! News ^ | Tue, Feb 24, 2004 | AP

[ottersnot]

Well, since in today's world you need 60 votes to get anything passed in the senate (to get over any filibuster), what kind of chance does the renewal have?
This is the same senate with Orin Hatch and pals in it.

[yarddog]

I have a suspicion that Hatch as well as a few others have hidden skeletons somewhere, and Ted Kennedy knows where they are buried.

I was discussing Senator Sam Nunn with a Federal LEO I knew in Georgia and he told me Nunn would not run again because of some secrets which were known by a few too many people, and sure enough he was right. Nunn did not seek re-election.

[archy]

Mike DeWine; Ohio:

[demlosers]

How can you say it's DOA? Recently, Tom Delay said it is DOA.

[philetus]

Great post I found at Government Monkey

http://www2.trettel.net:8080/mt/archives/000223.html

No one here but us politicians...

Pandering away as usual, Kathleen Townsend on Monday called for new restrictions on scary looking guns as the proper response to the .223 shootings (I ain't gonna call the guy a sniper, sorry). Never mind the fact that the Bushmaster used in the shooting wasn't bought in Maryland, or that it was secured illegally in Washington State, or that Mr. Muhammed wasn't allowed to own a gun in the first place, or that he broke a myriad collection of laws by transporting it to Maryland and shooting people with it, and also let's not mind the fact that his youthful sidekick Mr. Malvo was in the country illegally, and that he also wasn't legally allowed to have a gun, and yadda yadda yadda. Let's pass yet more laws instead! Screw enforcing the one's we've got!

If anyone wants to know what's wrong with the Democratic Party, well I'll point to this as just one instance. The proper response to a tragedy such as this should be a sober and introspective analysis of what happened, not a knee jerk attempt to shift the blame to an innocent party by coming up with yet more laws. Let's be clear about this, because that's what's going on here. Here's MoCo's Supreme Leader on who to blame:

"Gunmakers are making a mockery of our gun laws," said Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who appeared with Townsend.


That's right-the nerve of those gunmakers to sell guns that are in reality fully compliant with the laws on the books! They should know that the actual intent is to shut them down, and to simply do so. Here's a free clue for Duncan and Townsend-the Bushmaster company did not send a factory representative down to Maryland to shoot the place up. Nor did Bushmaster produce a rifle that was actually any more deadly than any other common bolt action rifle-it just happens to look scary. What did happen was that two criminals named Muhammed and Malvo shot the place up with an illegally purchased gun, and also performed multiple acts of violence in the states of Alabama and Virginia. Perhaps we might want to look at these two people instead, since they seem to bear the brunt of the blame and responsibility. I would hope that this is an easy concept to grasp, although perhaps I'm asking a bit too much of our selected leaders.

To be fair the reason why Townsend made this proposition is because her opponent Bob Ehrlich had just secured the endorsement of the Montgomery Country Fraternal Order of Police. It was her way of stealing attention back to her campaign, and the comment was clearly intended to serve as a rallying point for her followers in Montgomery County. Also, to be fair the Post story actually included some balance in it by quoting a gun rights supporter:


"She keeps calling for common-sense gun laws, but we've already got 350 laws on the books. Isn't that enough?" said Sanford Abrams of the Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association. "There's no other reason for this pronouncement of hers except to get votes in Montgomery and Prince George's counties."


The reality is that there is damn little any laws could do to stop this type of violence in the USA. Without even getting into the merits of the 2nd Amendment as it applies today, the plain fact is that there's some 200 million guns in circulation in this country. It would be simply impossible to remove all these guns from circulation short of making the USA a police state-Americans have a long and noble history of ignoring laws they don't like. What Muhammed and Malvo did could have been done with almost any common rifle that could be had in any pawn shop, garage sale, black market sale, or burglery in the USA. There's no way to get around that fact-so the best thing to do here is to give these two men their fair trial (hopefully in Prince Williams County, VA) and move along. Posted by mtrettel at October 30, 2002 08:59 AM

[Monty22]

"And even worse is when they then pass the amended turkey "without objection" at Oh-Dark_Thirty just before a long recess."

Is this likely to happen?

[philetus]

[joesnuffy]

Even the social liberal-fiscal conservatives are pretty much hard core pro gunners....

The Republicans cant hide forever on this issue.....those who vote for renewel will be hurt at the polls...and they know it...

imo

[Imal]

By their own admission, it hurt last time.

[Destructor]

As the old saying goes, "Keep your powder dry." In other words, be ready in the event that more drastic measures are needed in the future.

Last weekend I went out to the range with some friends to break in my new "Yugo" (Yugoslavian SKS that is).

[Mulder]

100% of gun owners voted for Bush in 2000????

First, I said "nearly 100%".

Secondly, I wasn't talking about "gun owners" in general, rather those that post on the gun forums that I visit. And yes, I'll stick to my contention that almost 100% of them voted for Bush in 2000.

Beyond that, I'm not really sure what your point is.

If it's to nitpick, I guess I should have done a better job clarifying my initial statement.

If it's to suggest that the AWB ban really doesn't matter when it comes to the elections this year, I would simply state that you're wrong.

If it's to contend that the people posting on these gun forums are leftists, I would suggest reading the posts at ar15.com and thehighroad.org.

If your point is to infer that the people posting there are really undercover DU operatives funded by Al Queda, with the intent of derailing the Bush re-election campaign by causing dissent in the ranks, I would simply laugh my tail off.

But back to the issue at hand:

Based on the stuff I've read, Bush got somewhere around 60% or less of the gunowner vote.

Most gunowners don't vote simply on the gun issue.

But for those that do, they made a big difference in West Virginia and Tennessee and Florida in 2000.

And be assured that if the AWB is renewed in any shape, form, or fashion, the single-issue Freedom/gun voters will withold support from anyone involved in passing new gun control legislation.

And yes, there are enough of us to make a difference at the ballot box. There have been countless congressmen, state reps, and even governors who have been defeated just because they went against the 2nd amendment.

[King Prout]

correct.

side-question: is that one of those new-fangled "holographic" sights on that '15?
what is your review of them as battlefield optics?
I ask, because I think I may soon want to upgrade the optics on my custom bullpup AK47 - in order to increase rapidity of target acquisition, accuracy, and reduce light-emissions (currently using a no-mag red-dot sight... acceptable, but not ideal).

[King Prout]

damn straight.

molon labe!

[Blood of Tyrants]

And if Bush doesn't veto it, his term WON'T be extended.

[Mulder]

I have a suspicion that Hatch as well as a few others have hidden skeletons somewhere, and Ted Kennedy knows where they are buried.

I suspect that there is "something" on most of them.

Very few have the moral courage and backbone to stand up to blackmail.

On top of that, most of them engage in the behind-the-scene games, sort of like the nobles in "Braveheart".

So instead of having 535 independent men and women in Congress, you mostly have a bunch of puppets who are controlled by the people that really run things.

[Blood of Tyrants]

This is a political move by them hoping that they can vote for it but it doesn't pass and people will forget by the next election.

[Trailerpark Badass]

It's almost like they're daring me not to vote for them.

[neverdem]

Didn't Senator Warner run in 2002 unopposed by any rat?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Warner's email site: http://warner.senate.gov/contact/contactme.htm

[Indie]

Between allowing mass illegal immigration, banning semi-automatic rifles with pistol grips, the patriot act, free trade and jobs flowing overseas...what the hell good are Republicans? It's getting very hard to tell the difference...and the Constitution is dead.