President Obama is to reinstate the Assault Weapons ban

[John]

From ABC News site (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1):


The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder (http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6905255&page=1) said today.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_assault_holder_090225_mn.jpg

Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration.
(AP Photos/ABC News Graphic )

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people (http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/FedCrimes/story?id=6957287&page=1) in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.


Even NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/national/24guns.html?_r=1) have admitted that the Clinton Assault Weapons ban had no effect on crime, in a rare moment of candor.


Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments.

So the new administation is planning to reinstate a law which had no effect in the past. Learning from past mistakes seems to be a quality that current politicians do not have.


This is just another case where someone doesn't understand that gun-limiting laws do NOT affect outlaws, who by definition outlaws live outside the laws. So the only ones really affected by such laws are law-abiding citizens. It's sad that a man who has climbed to the top ranks of US administration can not understand that simple fact, or one has to assume that he is using this poor excuse to cover up his real intentions.

[Mannlicher]

gun bans have never lowered the crime rate. All they do is make Citizens more vulnerable to crime.
Criminals do not obey the law.......

[Hunter]

It would be nice for the folks who make all the laws to educate themselves on the facts.

[d90king]

Holden has actually been asked to back up from those statements. Both Pelosi and Reid have stated that they have no plans to introduce an additional ban in Congress. Reid voted against it both in 94 and 2004

I believe they realized what happened after they did it in the 90's....


http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reid-joins-pelosi-in-opposing-weapons-ban-revival-2009-02-26.html

http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=12245

[Mannlicher]

and there is some reason you believe what they say?

Actions speak louder than words. The past actions of Reid, Pelosi, and Holder speak volumes about their actual intent. Barring some unrealistic epiphany on their part, my guess is that they are lying.

[d90king]

and there is some reason you believe what they say?

Actions speak louder than words. The past actions of Reid, Pelosi, and Holder speak volumes about their actual intent. Barring some unrealistic epiphany on their part, my guess is that they are lying.


First off I will say that both Pelosi and Reid are very seasoned politicians and have learned the consequences of their parties actions in the past. If you look at what happened after the ban of 94 they suffered overwhelming defeats with a popular President at the time. Politicians love their power to much to let that happen again. Reid actually has a pretty good voting record on 2a issues in the past.

Don't be confused by the letter next to a politicians name and assume that they support the party's ideology on every issue.

Look at the new Senator from NY, sometimes a "blue dog" is more valuable than someone with a R next to their name. She has a perfect voting record on 2a issues and is a fiscal conservative.

Holder is a different case entirely. He believes that Heller left loop holes on regulation however he is powerless without Congress passing laws. Ammo could be entirely different..........

McCain scares me more than Reid does.......

[IZinterrogator]

Holden has actually been asked to back up from those statements. Both Pelosi and Reid have stated that they have no plans to introduce an additional ban in Congress.
Given the administration's recent comments about a new AWB in light of the Mexico problem, I don't think the administration is going to back down. After all, the following still is posted on the White House website: Address Gun Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent. http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/urban_policy/

I really like how they prefer to address gun rights in the Urban Policy section instead of the Civil Rights section, since they don't believe the Second Amendment is a civil right. :mad:

[d90king]

Given the administration's recent comments about a new AWB in light of the Mexico problem

The above links are based on his comments on Mexico. So are these quotes

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now the second member of President Obama's cabinet to get shot down by the White House over the politically sensitive issue of assault weapons. After meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Clinton said that reinstating the U.S. ban on assault weapons—which was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004—is one step this country could take to curb the flow of guns to Mexico's drug cartels. "These military-style weapons don't belong on anybody's street," Clinton told NBC. Within hours, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that he was unaware of "any plans" to push for such a ban—even though Obama had backed one during last year's campaign.

Attorney General Eric Holder had a similar experience a few weeks earlier. After he endorsed a ban at a Feb. 25 press conference, Justice officials were instructed by White House aides to drop the issue, according to administration and congressional aides who asked not to be named due to political sensitivities. What's behind the shift? A budding relationship between the gun lobby and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill. After Holder mentioned the ban, the National Rifle Association sent out action alerts to its members and bombarded Hill offices with calls. Sixty-five House Dems dashed off a letter to Holder opposing such a ban, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi—echoing the NRA's mantra on all gun-control issues—said she backed "enforcing the laws we have now."

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told NEWSWEEK that Hill Democrats have "learned their lesson" from 1994, when they enacted the ban and subsequently lost control of Congress. They've also learned that cozying up to the NRA can pay big dividends. Last year Democrats received 20 percent of the nearly $1.2 million that the NRA pumped into congressional campaign coffers—more than twice what it gave to Dems just six years earlier. The way things are going, this could be more than a shotgun wedding.


I really like how they prefer to address gun rights in the Urban Policy section instead of the Civil Rights section, since they don't believe the Second Amendment is a civil right. :mad:


There is no doubt that this administration would love to do a lot of things about our guns. Since Heller I think they will try different approaches than in the past. Ammo and taxes are one area that they will try first IMHO. Think about the ease of the argument " who needs Russian military surplus ammo.......... Think about serial numbers on every bullet :eek:

[KCShooter]

While I agree that there will most likely be an attempt at legislation regarding a gun ban, it may be tough to get it thru Congress at this point. I do see an ammo import ban as a likely attempt to regulate, but I sincerely doubt you will see serialized ammo in the near future.
There were quite a few states that attempted to introduce a bill regarding this, all of it has died before it even got off the ground floor.

[Carole-K]

If we're lucky the economy and other far more pressing problems will keep him tied up for most of the next 4 years. If we're smart by that point the U.S. citizenry will vote him out of office. And of course, if we (the people) do it right in 2010 he won't have enough support in the House or the Senate to pass any of their much-dreamed of anti-gun legislation.

[dogdollar]

I saw an interview with Holder just last week, and he was intentionally vague and would not be pinned down on the assault weapons ban issue, despite the harping of the reporter "Don't you think that reinstating the AWB would improve the situation with the Mexican cartel violence?". It appears to me that a lot of high profile politicians have been asked to stand down on the subject, which I find somewhat comforting.
DD

[d90king]

I agree Tim, they learned the hard way after the last one. I also think Heller is in the back of their minds and the consequences of a challenge to any new ban. Where is your Avatar.........?

[Rich-D]

Heller brings up a point! While we may be able to elect more pro-gun politicians in the next election. Supreme Court appointments by the currant President is a major concern, for gun rights advocates.

Rich