So much for Obama not banning guns...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
So much for Obama not banning guns...
73
Thu, 02-26-2009 - 11:55pm
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
The Ban Expired in 2004 During the Bush Administration.
By JASON RYAN
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2009

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons
ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney
General Eric Holder said today.

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
in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in
the U.S. Mexican government officials have complained that the
availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have
emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.

A State Department travel warning issued Feb. 20, 2009, reflected
government concerns about the violence.

"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels
have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic
weapons and grenades," the warning said. "Large firefights have taken
place in many towns and cities across Mexico, but most recently in
northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez."


At the news conference today, Holder described his discussions with
his Mexican counterpart about the recent spike in violence.

"I met yesterday with Attorney General Medina Mora of Mexico, and we
discussed the unprecedented levels of violence his country is facing
because of their enforcement efforts," he said.

Holder declined to offer any time frame for the reimplementation of
the assault weapons ban, however.

"It's something, as I said, that the president talked about during the
campaign," he said. "There are obviously a number of things that are -
- that have been taking up a substantial amount of his time, and so,
I'm not sure exactly what the sequencing will be."

In a brief interview with ABC News, Wayne LaPierre, president of the
National Rifle Association, said, "I think there are a lot of
Democrats on Capitol Hill cringing at Eric Holder's comments right
now."

During his confirmation hearing, Holder told the Senate Judiciary
Committee about other gun control measures the Obama administration
may consider.

"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer
bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban
permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller,"
Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C.
v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's
right to own a weapon.


The Assault Weapons Ban signed into law by President Clinton in 1994
banned 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns and ammunition
clips with more than 10 rounds.

"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by
American citizens in this country," LaPierre said. "I think it is
clearly covered under Heller and it's clearly, I think, protected by
the Constitution."

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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:36pm

I've always wondered this myself. I also think of the people I know that think they "need" this type of weapon for "protection" and "hunting." There is a certain mentality among them that is a bit........I don't know how to put it without offending anyone......


I know just what you mean. What sort of idiot would want the most effective tool available for something so frivolous as self defense?

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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:43pm

***Third, there will ALWAYS be bad guys,****


Yes, there will.


I wonder, how many gun owners actually have EVER used their guns to protect themselves from "bad guys?" I wonder how many "bad guys" have stolen guns from "good guys" and then used them in crimes? I wonder how many gun related accidents have happened in the "ggod guys" homes? Do the benefits of owning guns really benefit the "good guys" as much as the "good guys" claim they do? Does owning a gun put some magical force field around a home that prevents the "bad guys" from entering and commiting crimes against those in that home/


Actually, I find the security gun owners feel to be strangly bizarre. It's like they feel like "I have this thing that I will use to protect myself." Which it can be, given all the right circumstances. That is, if you have adequate warning that you are being intruded upon, you don't have your head in the dryer or a basket of laundry in your arms, you aren't nursing the baby, taking a shower, down in the basement pulling a roast out of the deep freeze, playing fort with the kids....or do most gun owners walk around packing at home? Is that why they feel so safe?


The most violent crimes in my community have been home invasions, while folks are just sitting and watching TV. My friend that was murdered, was murdered by someone she knew who was lying in wait. They knew her schedule and when she would be getting home, they strangled her from behind. Unless someone is the type that sits with their gun in their lap while they watch the tube (and who would want to live that way?) in none of these cases would a firearm have helped the "good guys."



iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:46pm

What fear are you speaking of?

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:47pm

He hasn't said anything about taking my guns away.

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:49pm

***Why would citizen "need a military style" vehicle? *****


Mostly because they think it makes them look cool to other people. Mostly



iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 8:56pm

To each their own.


IMO, real hunters use bows and arrows.


Depends a lot on the

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 9:07pm

The op is about "Obama banning guns" and that's really a falsehhood, it is the reinstatement of a weapons ban that existed previously.


Wasn't the old ban a ban?


There are many other options available for hunting, protection and competition. Just because people aren't allowed their assault weapons, they aren't being down graded to throwing rocks either, and that seems to be the mind set/fear of many.


Thats entirely beside the point when it comes to constitutional rights. If they didn't allow you to practice your religion, but said "there are lots of other religions available", would you still insist you had a right to practice your own religion?


The simple fact is that the guns in teh AWB aren't any more lethal or dangerous than any other gun. They are, however, very effective tools for self defense, hunting, and recreation.

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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 9:15pm

I always feel sorry for people that live such fearful lives.


Me, too. I can't imagine being so afraid of my neighbors that I wouldn't trust them to use a gun to defend themselves. I can't imagine being so distrustfuk oif the 100 million gun owners in the US that I thought they needed their rights restrained, despite the fact that 99+% of them are law abiding and pose no threat to anyone.


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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 9:27pm

I wonder, how many gun owners actually have EVER used their guns to protect themselves from "bad guys?"


No need to wonder. There are several published suties. Simply google "defensive gun use". I have used my gun to defend myself.


Does owning a gun put some magical force field around a home that prevents the "bad guys" from entering and commiting crimes against those in that home/


I really love it when people resort to the "reducto al absurdum" technique. It lets me know they may not have a legitimate argument to make.


Actually, I find the security gun owners feel to be strangly bizarre. It's like they feel like "I have this thing that I will use to protect myself." Which it can be, given all the right circumstances.


So what's so bizarre about that? I also have a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, and I keep water and caned foods in the house. Those are all things I can use to protect or provide for myself in case of emergency. My car has a seat belt - its a thing I will use to

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-05-2009
Fri, 02-27-2009 - 9:45pm

The last AWB made my AR, my Mini-14, my competitive pistols, and my magazines illegal. It will make one of the guns I carry for self defense illegal, and my wife's pistol illegal. The guns my son and brother keep in their homes for self defense will be illegal.


The OP says the sale of these guns will be illegal.

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