Posted on 02/09/2005 4:40:27 AM PST by pop-aye
(CNSNews.com) - U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy implied Tuesday that congressional colleagues who do not share his support for a failed gun ban being reintroduced in the House are mentally ill. The Rhode Island Democrat also accused lawmakers who oppose the anti-gun legislation of not caring about police safety.
Kennedy is the son of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, both of whom were shot to death.
The younger Kennedy made the comments at a Capitol Hill press conference to promote the reintroduction of the "50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Reduction Act." The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), would ban the manufacture of such rifles and severely limit the sale or transfer of existing .50 BMG rifles except for those owned by the military or civilian law enforcement agencies.
"Any policy maker who, on the one hand, says that they are for combating terrorism but, on the other hand, will not back this legislation, backed by Representative Moran, to me has a lot of explaining to do," Kennedy said "In fact, I think it would be the definition of insanity to say that."
In addition to challenging his opponents' mental stability, Kennedy also questioned whether his fellow lawmakers could claim to support police while opposing the gun ban.
"If we don't pass this legislation, this Congress, implicitly, is saying that they do not care about the welfare of our law enforcement community," Kennedy said.
John Burtt - chairman of the Fifty Caliber Institute, the education and advocacy arm of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association - told Cybercast News Service that Moran, Kennedy and their colleagues are trying to create "backdoor legislation to ban all firearms in this country.
"What they're doing is using hyperbole to create anxiety on the part of the uninformed public that these guns are dangerous, that they are a threat to national security," Burtt said, "but they are not."
Burtt said there has not been a single instance of terrorists using the .50 BMG in an attack on U.S. soil. A handout provided to the media at Moran's press conference listed 12 instances in which a .50 caliber rifle was used, threatened or intended for use in a criminal act. But Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, reviewed the list and questioned the nature of the examples.
"It's usually people who were prohibited from owning any kind of firearm to begin with and, as a result, should have been prohibited from owning a .50 caliber already," Gottlieb said. "There's no need to have a new law. They ought to just enforce the existing laws."
Moran believes, however, that there is no legitimate reason for civilians to own the rifles.
"It serves no purpose for hunting, whatsoever," Moran claimed. "If you went hunting with this, you would not have any trophy. All you'd have left would be some pieces of fur and hoof."
Burtt refuted Moran's assertion.
"I know a lot of people who hunt with the .50 BMG," Burtt said, noting that many people pursue elk, bear and other large game animals with the rifles. "When a .50 caliber round hits a large animal like that, it has tremendous knock-down power. But, it does nothing more than put a half-inch hole into the animal and knock it down.
"This is just somebody who, obviously, has no knowledge, whatsoever, about the hunting capabilities of these firearms making statements that are completely inaccurate," Burtt added.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was murdered and son wounded by a gunman on a Long Island commuter train in 1993, contributed to Moran's "no legitimate use" argument.
"This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. This has nothing to do with taking away the right of someone to have a gun to protect themselves [sic]," McCarthy said.
Gottlieb disagreed.
"As far as Carolyn McCarthy is concerned, the Second Amendment doesn't protect any firearm," Gottlieb said. "If she had her wishes, she'd classify every firearm under a foot long as a 'Saturday Night Special,' and ban it, and characterize every gun over a foot long as an 'assault weapon,' and ban it also."
McCarthy and her anti-gun colleagues are using a "divide and conquer" strategy, according to Gottlieb, to disarm law-abiding Americans.
"If you pick on one type of gun at a time and say, 'the Second Amendment doesn't protect it,' most gun owners who don't own that kind of gun won't get upset and she might get her legislation passed," Gottlieb explained. "Then, lo and behold, she'll come back for another gun the next time and another gun the next time until there are no guns left."
McCarthy's comments seemed to support Gottlieb's assessment as she attempted to further demonize the .50 caliber.
"Look at this thing," McCarthy urged. "Do you want this in your home? Do you want your children to play with this?"
Burtt said McCarthy's comment betrays her ignorance of firearms and their safe handling.
"I don't want any children 'playing' with firearms, and they shouldn't even be touching them without the supervision of an adult," Burtt said. "I can't believe a representative of our Congress would make a statement like that."
Gottlieb, however, said he was not surprised by McCarthy's comments.
"Nobody said that the opponents of gun ownership are intellectually honest," Gottlieb said. "As far as these members of Congress are concerned, there's no such thing as a good gun."
I am sure the pre-revolutionary French nobility advocated guillotine control...
Aren't we all so glad to have this Kennedy so ambitiously trying to save the lives of the law enforcement officers that have never even been threatened by the lack of his latest version of disarming good citizens.
I'm so happy that Jim Moran is at least protecting our 2nd Amendment for hunting, that being the very foundation of the 2nd and all.
You're right, Ms. McCarthy, I wouldn't let my babies play with any firearm larger than .499 caliber. These toy manufacturers have to be more responsible!
These good people must think they entire country is populated by wussies on dope.
Let's ban drunken womanizing senators, instead!
This is the classic weapon of choice that criminals conceal under their coat when they knock off liquor stores, 7-11s, or McDs. Traffic cops always do a quick search of glove compartments just to make sure speeders aren't hiding one of these for the usual mischief and fireworks. [irony]
All you'd have left would be some pieces of fur and hoof."
Or some pieces of a member's only jacket and a chequered tablecloth.
Don't forget about skis and footballs :-)
... while they are protected by private or government security forces.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are supposed to lie down and be victimized so the elites can realize their dreams of a pacified public.
This is all the same tired strongarm arguments coming out all over again; if you don't ban guns, you're against the police. You're endangering children. You're supplying terrorists. You're all insane!!!
Someone should tell these idiot Dems that their chances of passing this crap in the next four years are zero. I'm sure they realize that, but they want to confront the Pubs as much as possible just to mask their own impotence.
A criminal isn't going to commit a crime with a $2,000 gun (or a $400 gun) for that matter when they can get a gun for $50. A druggie with an expensive gun would hock the thing pretty soon, anyway.
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
Patrick needs to un-Borg himself.
When he publicly calls his father a murderer, I will pay attention.
Maybe he will intoduce a bill requiring the mentally ill to undergo the same treatment as his grandfather forced on his aunt.
There may be one or two Kennedy's who have something of substance to offer this country, but most of them are scum suckers.
Seems to me the Kennedy clan should work on banning golf clubs and Buicks from their family, and the world would be a safer place.
And the rest of us should work on banning Kennedy's
I think this Kennedy is Teddy's son....isn't he????? Just what we need, another Kennedy coming up the ranks...aren't we just about tired of Kennedys and Clintons??????????
Concur, and when they want to take away any firearm from the law abiding, there's much more they plan to TAKE!
Yeah, but even with a ban on golf clubs, they could still tackle a drunk woman on their lawn. Better add amputation of arms to the bill. [irony]
"I've never worked a day in my life." -- Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D)
I'll take my lectures from people more closely connected to the real world, thank you.
..."The same Kennedy who assaulted an airline screener for requiring that he comply with FAA baggage screening regulations
He sounds positively Hitleresque. And scary.
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