Democrats show little appetite for gun control

[davepc]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hr59YIcGfUWtkBHYcTRBVpZGGTKQD96MQQMO1

The National Rifle Association warned in a campaign ad that if Barack Obama were elected president he would try to take away hunters' guns and ammo. But with pro-gun Democrats a powerful force in Congress, it's already pretty clear there will be no messing with Americans' right to bear arms.

Twenty-two Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined Republicans last week in a Senate vote to negate the District of Columbia's tough gun registration requirements and overturn its ban on rapid-fire semiautomatic weapons. More than 80 House Democrats voted for a similar measure last year.

"It was a pleasant surprise, but it's not a huge surprise that elected officials are listening to their constituents," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist.

It's not certain that the gun measure, attached to a bill on D.C. voting rights, will be a part of the final version of that bill. House plans to take up the voting rights bill this week were postponed Tuesday as Democratic leaders struggled over how to handle the gun issue.

But with six of 11 Democratic Senate freshmen — from pro-gun states such as Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia — voting for the proposal last week, it was a clear sign of where Congress is heading on gun issues.

"There has been a shift in thinking among Democrats in the last six to eight years, away from old ideas about gun control and limiting access to guns and toward ideas about how you actually reduce gun crime," said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a group of moderate Democrats active on gun control issues.

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The whole article is worth a read.

[derby378]

1. The times, they are a-changin'

Third Way is none too happy with how the debate on Capitol Hill is going, I'm sure - they're the ones who came up with this whole "I support the Second Amendment, except for that gun" bullshit. So this is a very positive development as far as we are concerned.

[jody]

2. ROFL at gun-grabber hysteria using terms like "rapid-fire semiautomatic weapons". n/t

[Furyataurus]

3. At the range

a few months ago there were some "gansta" thugs shooting an AK-47 at a target 5yds away who were "rapid" firing and I looked at this one guys target after he went through 10 rounds and he didn't hit the target once!!!! lol.

[Tim01]

4. Wow. This is positive.

I actually think the gun grabbers are a very vocal minority. And I think the democratic leadership is starting to understand that.

This is what President Obama says he plans to do:

"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."

Maybe he will reconsider that as he won't have support for it.

[Jackson1999]

5. Not really

The vote in the house on this has been "delayed." Democrats do not want the gun amendment brought to the floor, lest they be "forced" to take a position on it. I am so sick of this, I really believe Dems are out of touch with their voters on this. If you support gun control, then fine, vote for it. If you think it will be unpopular with your constituents, then maybe you should rethink your position. Just don't hide behind "don't ask, don't tell" maneuvers so you won't have to take a position on it.

[Taitertots]

6. His plans are exactly what the NRA warned

us all about.

He wants to reinstate the AWB, vastly limiting new semi-auto sales.
He wants to stop all private transfers.
He wants to increase gun sales trace data, de facto NICS registration
He wants to "child proof" guns, dramatically increasing costs.


Hopefully he will realize it is unpopular, unconstitutional, and only going to push millions of people to republicans.

[enfield collector]

7. leadership in the house and senate know this is foolish

and they're demonstrating real leadership to ensure this doesn't get in the way of advancing needed legislation in other areas.

[Vini_Vidivici]

8. I certainly hope........

............they are a "vocal minority", though this doesn't seem to be the case. This "cause" is so very contrary to the Constitution, it's a shame.

These ideas, such as repealing the Tiahart Amendment, closing the "gunshow loophole" (which is TOTALLY non-existent, by the way), pushing the AWB (which did, and will do, NOTHING to prevent crime), are misguided, and frankly, borderline absurd.

My own guns ARE already childproof. It's called a SAFE. And I am currently the only human being on Earth who knows the combination. That works quite well. It's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, a very American concept, as the Founders intended.