Posted on 09/15/2014 6:23:18 AM PDT by marktwain
Twenty years after the since-expired assault weapons ban passed Congress, Washingtons leading liberal think says its no longer an idea worth pursuing.
The Center for American Progress is waving a white flag on banning assault weapons in a study out Friday titled Assault Weapons Revisited. CAP authors Arkadi Gerney and Chelsea Parsons argue that gun control advocates focus their energies primarily on expanding background checks and firearms licensing laws instead of pushing to prohibit assault weapons like the AR-15 rifle.
The answer is not that assault weapons arent dangerous and people having access to them is a good thing, Mr. Gerney said in an interview this week. There are other things that we can do to lessen the risks of assault weapons short of banning them. When youre making policy, its always a mix of whats going to have a biggest positive impact and what is practical and politically possible.
Banning assault weapons, which Congress did for a decade as part of the 1994 crime bill, was a centerpiece of the policy prescriptions President Barack Obama sought in the wake of the December 2012 school massacre at Newtown, Conn. Mr. Obama also sought to implement universal background checks for gun purchases, ban high-capacity ammunition magazines and restrict on gun trafficking. Only background checks received a serious hearing in Congress only 40 senators voted for an assault weapons ban. Background checks fell five votes short.
The 1994 assault weapons ban expired in 2004 when Congress did not reauthorize it. Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, when they addressed the issue, spoke passionately about the need to ban the sort of weapon used during the Newtown shooting.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
Let's see, which one would I choose, ....?
Well, I guess I go along with one of their proposals, since there has been a rash of mass murders by teens under the age of 16 years using machine guns.
Do I need a sarcasm tag?
There it is !!!
Exactly.
Going after the "object" did not work because the object is not subjective and only facts apply.
If one goes after a person (expanded "universal" background check) then the criteria becomes subject to "interpretation."
John Doe could do this or that because he got mad at his dog once.
John Doe could do this or that because a shrink told him to take anti-depressants, which John flushed down the tolerate after two weeks because they are crap.
John Doe is "ineligible" for his Second Amendment rights because he got in a big fight when he was a teenager...
The list will instantly become endless and the bar will be set by anonymous "panels" that will set the bar wherever they like and for whomever they chose.
Think IRS...
.
or ban other parts needed.
That is exactly the wrong answer. Whether a superficially patriotic American wants to ban flag burning (offensive but clearly political expression and thus protected "speech" under the First Amendment) or a liberal traitor wants to limit or ban political speech or the funding of political speech (again, clearly protected), the correct answer is not to find a way around our God-given human rights. The correct answer is to honor the Constitution and not even attempt to get around these basic rights.
All restrictions on free speech, short of restricting speech that poses an imminent danger or contains direct threats are unconstitutional. All restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms are unconstitutional. All new restrictions should be resisted with all our power. All existing restrictions should be continuously challenged and eventually rolled back. The other side is wrong to attempt to get around the Bill of Rights, and those leading our opponents are trying to limit these rights for evil reasons. Some of their followers are evil, while others are deluded, but there are no informed people working against basic human rights who are working for the side of good.
Nobody needs military grade weapons! (sarc)
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