I'm keeping my mailbox.
Posted on 04/18/2007 6:09:07 PM PDT by Graybeard58
After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cautioned Tuesday against a "rush to judgment" on stricter gun control.
A leading House supporter of restrictions on firearms conceded passage of legislation would be difficult.
"I think we ought to be thinking about the families and the victims and not speculate about future legislative battles that might lie ahead," said Reid, a view expressed by other Democratic leaders the day after the shootings that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Democrats traditionally have been in the forefront of efforts to pass gun control legislation, but there is a widespread perception among political strategists that the issue has been a loser in recent campaigns. It was notably absent from the agenda Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled earlier this year when the party took control of the House and Senate for the first time in more than a decade.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, a few Democrats renewed the call for gun control legislation, and more are expected to join them.
"I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass commonsense gun regulations in this nation," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who was a leader in the failed drive to renew a ban on certain types of assault weapons that expired in 2004.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was one of very few lawmakers to defer pushing for gun control in the early hours after the shootings. "There will be time to debate the steps needed to avert such tragedies," he said on Monday, "but today, our thoughts and prayers go to their families."
By coincidence, Kennedy and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., are scheduled to attend a demonstration Friday at a firing range used by U.S. Capitol Police to draw attention to microstamping, a procedure by which serial numbers are placed on ammunition casings. The goal is to allow police and other investigators to quickly track ammunition to the gun that fired it.
The two lawmakers support legislation to require microstamping for all guns manufactured after 2009, and aides to both said they planned to go ahead with the demonstration.
Overall, though, said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., "It is a tough sell" to pass gun control legislation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a brief meeting on the subject to discuss possible legislation, including a proposal for an instant background check for gun purchasers. But there was no apparent eagerness by Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., or her to predict Democrats would lead a drive to toughen existing laws.
One senior Democrat, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, said gun rights advocates are simply too influential to allow a tightening of gun control laws. "It's a regional thing, it's a cultural thing," Rangel said, arguing that even in areas where 85 percent of the people support more restrictions, the 15 percent minority is far more active and outspoken.
Less than a month ago, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders abruptly pulled legislation to give the District of Columbia voting representation in the House. Republicans were using the issue to try to force a vote on repeal of the capital's handgun ban, and Democrats feared it would pass.
Hoyer told reporters he thought and hoped the shootings at Virginia Tech would make it harder for Republicans to prevail when the voting rights bill returns to the House floor later this week.
He refused to be drawn into a discussion of the longer-term political consequences of the shooting, saying, "All I am saying is there will be a debate. I am not going to enter into the debate today."
Not all lawmakers were as reticent.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, one of Congress' most persistent advocates of gun rights, noted that the student who police say was the shooter at Virginia Tech had brought a weapon onto campus in violation of restrictions. He said he doubted a law could be passed that would protect "any of us when somebody who is mentally deranged decides to do this."
President Bush said in an interview with ABC News that he expects a debate on gun policy, but now is not the time.
"I think when a guy walks in and shoots 32 people it's going to cause there to be a lot of policy debate," he said. "Now is not the time to do the debate until we're actually certain about what happened. And after we help people get over their grieving. But yeah I think there's going to be a lot of discussion."
One law enforcement official has said that the gunman's backpack contained a receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. The gunman held a green card, meaning he was a legal, permanent resident, federal officials said. That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of a felony.
Democrats have grown less supportive of gun control legislation as a party in the past decade.
After the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, then-Vice President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on legislation to reduce the availability of certain firearms. He and other gun control advocates claimed victory, but many strategists believe the vote hurt him in the 2000 presidential election.
Gun control tends to win favor among suburban voters, but it often stirs opposition in less heavily populated areas
So far this year, there has been little evidence that Democrats feel otherwise after winning control of the House by picking up seats last fall in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Arizona and elsewhere where hunting is popular.
Democrats are just not echoing what their supporters are saying,
yet.
Let’s ban all guns in every “blue” county or state across America. At the same time, allow all guns and carry permits in all “red” counties or states. I have no doubt which counties will have little or no crime, and which will have staggering crime stats; which will have economic success, which will fail, which will have a law abiding society, which will sink into decadence and decay.
Oh yeah, our liberal elite friends must reside in the “blue” areas...
I have a question for the gun grabbing folks. How are you going to get the guns away from the criminals? They do not obey the law, it is in their job description.
I watched an advocate of strict gun laws on MSNBC who said that 100 people a day lose their lives because of guns. It was pointed out to him that the great majority of gun crimes happen in cities with the most restrictive laws.
It was completely lost on him.
"An SUV killed three people today...."
I'll be the first one to admit it, sometimes my SUV just decides to take control and do it's own thing.
Last year it attacked three different glaciers. Unprovoked and completely out of the blue. Now those glaciers are actually receding. My G-d, what do I do?
I was too embarrassed to say anything before, but feel that I must speak out about this.......it also attacked 23 trees.
I'm so ashamed.......
Agree. I wonder what percent of the criminals using guns are registered democrats and/or self proclaimed Liberals? I'd say 90%
Why does the media keep claiming this is the worst mass shooting/massacre in U.S. history? It may be the worst committed by one person but in numbers of victims the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Sand Creek, and Wounded Knee were far far worse.
I'm keeping my mailbox.
“University policies denied the VT students their 2nd amendment rights.”
Policies that the university did it’s darnedest to enforce as well. Two years ago, a student with a concealed handgun permit was disciplined by the university administration for (lawfully) carrying on campus.
“Let’s ban all guns in every “blue” county or state across America. At the same time, allow all guns and carry permits in all “red” counties or states.”
That’s pretty much the situation as it is right now. And the results are obvious, as even a casual look DC’s crime rate versus Virginia’s will show.
Even with the facts staring them blankly in the face, the gun grabbers still continue to spout their victim disarmament propaganda.
When dealing with these folks, the thing to remember is that you’re not dealing with an ideological opposition, but with a group psychosis.
It’s obvious that you have but one choice for salvation — buy carbon offsets.
I've looked all through Ebay - nada.
www.sanFransicko.duh is next.
Then, maybe, www.algore.blo - I'm sure that will have the answer.
the pussies in the media just need to kneel on the ground and take it when a gunman approaches. I'll defend myself and others if I can.
Also Hamlin, WV flooded a few days ago. The town was under water and a nearby dam was treatening to burst. Did the residents yell for the fed. gov. to come to their rescue? Nope. Got out a big old pump and started pumping water from the places that were threatened. Last I heard the pumps were doing the job and the town folk were back to tackle the job of cleaning up. Anybody wonder why I love this place?
“They are waiting for January 2009. If the Democrats still control the House and the Senate, and a Democrat wins the White House at the same time, they will then suddenly discover that they have a mandate for the gun control that they didn’t mention.”
If that happens, then I for one hope that an armed rebillion rise up and crush the new tyrants once and for all. Anyone who wishes to cast aside their God given liberties and in doing so casting aside the liberties of others ... deserve no less than a through “ass kicking” from those who still believe in what the founding fathers fought for.
I am getting info that a judge found him to be danger due to mental problems - isn’t there a question on the NICs form that asks if you have been adjudged to be mentally ill?
http://www.atf.gov/forms/4473/
On Form 4473, question 12f asks if the gun buyer has even been committed to a mental institution. I don’t think the shooter here ever was, quite.
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