Posted on 09/17/2004 2:32:55 PM PDT by ExSoldier
Posted on Fri, Sep. 17, 2004
ASSAULT WEAPONS
Death back on the market
BY HELEN THOMAS
hthomas@hearstdc.com
Assault weapons will soon be back on America's streets again -- thanks to President Bush and Congress.
Bush let die the 10-year ban on the deadly weapons -- good for mass murder -- by not taking a vigorous leadership role to persuade Congress to extend the ban.
His spokesman, Scott McClellan, told reporters that Bush would sign an extension if it crossed his desk, saying that the president's views ``are well known.''
''Congress is well aware of the president's position,'' said McClellan. But he made it clear that Bush would not lobby for it. In the absence of presidential leadership, Congress wasn't going to leap into action.
The inaction by the president and Congress has made many members of the National Rifle Association happy -- and the NRA has reciprocated with political support and campaign contributions.
But what about the safety of the American people? Do they count with Bush and those on Capitol Hill who did not lift a finger to stop these dangerous weapons from returning on the market?
In deciding not to lift a finger, Bush ignored police chiefs who have been urging that the law be renewed. They know what harm these weapons can bring.
Congress passed the ban in 1994 on 19 assault weapons, customarily the type used by the military, and decreed that the law would expire this week unless renewed. By allowing the law to lapse, Congress has signaled that it might next end the ban on handguns within Washington, D.C. The nation's capital now has a 100 percent ban on firearms of any kind.
Sarah Brady, an outspoken leader in behalf of gun control, laid the blame for this mess right on Bush's doorstep. On CBS' The Early Show, Brady said that the ''real onus'' falls on Bush, who exerted ''absolutely no leadership'' to keep the ban alive.
''We have a president and leadership in the House and Senate that simply do not want to face this,'' she added.
Her husband, Jim Brady, was President Ronald Reagan's press secretary and was severely wounded in an assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981.
Terrorists' job easier now
Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential challenger, accused Bush of shirking his responsibility to protect the country from crime and terrorism by not helping to extend the ban.
In remarks to the National Association of Police Organizations, a coalition of more than 2,000 police unions and associations, Kerry said that Bush had made ''the job of terrorists easier and made the job of America's law-enforcement officers harder'' by refusing to work for an extension of the ban. Kerry also won the political endorsement of the police association.
An assault weapon does not serve a hunter unless he wants to blast the prey to mincemeat. What is this desire to have a weapon that can be so devastating and can kill so many people in one burst? (ExSoldier Note: Highlights mine)
The gun manufacturers obviously are glad to be back in business. By its silence the Republican-dominated Congress has given the NRA its political payoff.
I'd like to hear the president explain why assault weapons are needed in the hands of civilians.
©2004 Hearst Newspapers
IOW, the 2nd amendment is NOT about freedom to hunt.
Speaking of which, they can have my assault weapons if they want em. I'm giving them the ammo first though!
Dear Helen. The next time you go national with your opinion on a piece of legislation, try reading the legislation. You might, for a change, look like something other than a senile old crank.
So far, I've never gotten an answer.
Is it any wonder that Helen Thomas is filling up her Depends? How long will Helen be able to "beat the reaper"?
Of course. Nobody in their right mind would go near her. She'd scare the wool off a sheep.
"Assault Weapons" and "Helen Thomas". No need to read any further...
I asked a lib female at work what her perception was of the AWB lapse. She said machine guns were now legal. She was totally amazed when I 'splained it to her. I guess the lies of the leftists and willing accomplices in the press are doing a good job of perpetuating the big lie.
"...the Second Amendment is not for killing little ducks and leaving Huey and Dewey and Louie without an aunt and uncle. It is for hunting politicians, like [in] Grozny, [or back in] 1776, when they take your independence away!" -- California Rep. Bob Dornan, Congressional Record, 25 January, 1995
And it's either one of two things...One - She's intellectually lazy, or stupid. Or, two - she's intentionally lying.
I'd be mildly interested in knowing which.
What? Is she serious?
Has she ever seen (or fired) a 5.56mm cartridge? Unless you are a very good shot, these things are pretty wimpy compared to what else is out there. There's a reason why it's called a "small bore" rifle cartridge. These things were designed to be small so they are light to carry and only wound soldiers, thus taking up enemy resources with wounded casualties. I'd be a lot more concerned about someone like my Grandfather with his .300 Weatherby (not that he ever game me cause for concern) than some overpaid city yuppie with a pre-ban AR-15.
At most, the best she can say is "Grevious Bodily Harm is back on the market. And this time he has a bayonette lug." The bayonette only becomes a threat once the assailent realizes that while "spraying bullets" (still with just one round per trigger pull) he forgot to also aim, and is now out of quarters.
Speaking of bayonette lugs, don't various local ordinances on knife lengths etc. ("knife control") restrict posession of bayonettes (big knives) thereby making bayonette lugs essentially useless?
Do the people who write this stuff ever bother to learn anything about guns? Sounds to me like they need editors (sarcasm from another thread).
Thanks for posting this. I have no idea where they get these people, but we need to be reminded that they are out there, they're ignorant, and they're everywhere.
Yes, evil "assault weapons" (heh) are made to kill people. That's why everyone should have one!
"An armed society is a polite society" said Robert Heinlein. The man was right, I mean, look at Switzerland. Everyone there has an M-16, and you don't hear about people going out and killing puppies and children with their nasty arsenals, do you?
Helen's single again!
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