Showdown on guns is near ('94 AW ban)

The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) ^ | 24 February 2003 | Bruce Alpert

[45Auto]

More than eight years after Congress approved a ban on the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons, supporters and opponents are preparing to battle over whether to let the law expire as scheduled in September 2004.

Although 19 months away, the sunset date for the 1994 law banning AK-47s and similar weapons is generating intensive lobbying efforts from both sides of the emotional gun control issue.

[45Auto]

Another mostly left-leaning article, but a few tidbits of interest.

[Redcloak]

"Ask yourself: Do you really want to return to the days when Uzis and AK-47s were freely available in stores and on our streets?" said Sarah Brady.

She says that like it's a bad thing.

[jjm2111]

"The Violence Policy Center, which supports gun control,[You mean, which does nothing but advocate gun control] recently released a report that said .50-caliber sniper rifles remain legal, even though terrorists could use them to fire at a jetliner thousands of yards away, potentially piercing the craft's metal skin and knocking it from the sky. "

I cannot read the second half of that sentence and keep a straight face.

" Also not covered by the ban is the Bushmaster .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle, which was linked by laboratory tests to 11 of the 13 sniper-related shootings last year in the Washington, D.C., area. ..."

Another example of the leftist media's lack of knowledge about guns.

[Joe Brower]

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[El Gato]

the weapons of choice for many drug dealers, gang members and terrorists

Not that old horse chesnut! Those types, if they use long arms at all, prefer the real thing, selective fire/full auto military rifles, not similar looking semi-automatic rifles with "bad" cosmetic or ergometric features.

In reality both the semi's and the selective fire versions are just the sort of arms that Madison had in mind when he wrote "..the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". (Actually that's as edited by the first Congress).

[Billthedrill]

Gun control advocates worry that the targeted firearms -- the weapons of choice for many drug dealers, gang members and terrorists -- will return with a vengeance to the streets of America if the law is allowed to go off the books.

They were never there in the first place. The entire thing was predicated on a carefully-contrived set of misrepresentations which led the unsuspecting reader to the conclusion that drug gangs were duking it out on the streets with assault rifles. In fact, nothing of the sort ever took place. And the implication, that somebody already criminal enough to kill somebody else, is going to be deterred from doing so with a rifle banned under the Brady law (banned to the law-abiding, that is) is simply laughable.

This law began with misrepresentation and was twisted after passage to include all sorts of firearms the original bill never listed - Clinton's infamous comment "I'm going to stretch this as far as I can" is a perfect illustration of the malicious intent of the pious gun-ban community. The law needs to die an overdue death.

[El Gato]

Ask yourself: Do you really want to return to the days when Uzis and AK-47s were freely available in stores and on our streets?"

And when was that? Oh you mean the semiauto look alikes? Well those are still available, minus the "frighting" cosmetic features, like bayonet mounts and flash suppressors. (many now have the sometimes more useful muzzle brakes, which retain the general appearance of the flash suppresser, but not it's function>

BTW, the answer to the question is "Not just yes, but HELL YES". Just the thing for shortstopping the next jihadii attrocity, at least under some circumstances, under others, a nice conealable handgun would be a better tool. But of course Sarah doesn't want us to have those either.

[July 4th]

.50-caliber sniper rifles remain legal, even though terrorists could use them to fire at a jetliner thousands of yards away, potentially piercing the craft's metal skin and knocking it from the sky.

Oh, give me a break. Someone sitting at an airport with a .308 could do exactly the same thing. There are a lot of things people could do with guns, but when Osama Jr. wants to take down a plane, it won't be with a .50-cal.

[P8riot]

40 Reasons For Gun Control

[Jack Black]

Ask yourself: Do you really want to return to the days when Uzis and AK-47s were freely available in stores and on our streets?" said Sarah Brady.

Well they seem pretty available to me. Do a Google Search and you can find about 10 businesses selling them mail order (to FFL license holders). My local gun shop has one in the rack, and would be happy to order me which ever variant AK I like from the aformentioned sources. I'm not sure what was banned, but if it was AK-47s it must have been a very badly written law cause they are still readily available out there. About $300.

[El Gato]

50-caliber sniper rifles remain legal, even though terrorists could use them to fire at a jetliner thousands of yards away, potentially piercing the craft's metal skin and knocking it from the sky.

Right. Yes you could shoot at and probably hit an airliner from a few "thousands of yards", if it was stationary, but if it's flying, your chances of hitting it would be almost nil. The same thing could be said of many of the higher power hunting rifle catridges, with only a slight decrease in range.

[Dan from Michigan]

A White House spokesman said the president stands behind his campaign commitment to support an extension of the ban, but he would not say if Bush will ask Congress to do so.

He signs it, and he's a one-termer. That simple.

[Redbob]

Hope Landrieu and others DO examine the evidence: the legally-mandated Justice Dept. study of the effects of the so-called "assault-weapons" ban showed that it did not reduce crime, but primarily because these weapons were only very rarely used in committing crimes in the first place.

And you could tell in reading the report that it pained the Clintonians to have to say so.

[editor-surveyor]

" Do you really want to return to the days when Uzis and AK-47s were freely available in stores and on our streets?"

YES !!!! - Soon, too.

[chuknospam]

bump

[FroedrickVonFreepenstein]

To co-opt the abortion freaks' slogan:

Keep your laws off my firearms!

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.researchpress.co.uk/targets/sandyhook.htm

They should ban this gun.
It can hit a target at two miles.
You can buy them on the internet.

[Redbob]

"Some analysts suggested Bush is president today because he carried West Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee,..."

And more to the point, Dubya carried Algore's HOME STATE! in part because of a series of campaign stops there by Charlton Heston.

(see, I'm trying to be series!)

[toothless]

"He signs it, and he's a one-termer. That simple."

When will it expire in relation to the '04 elections?

[harpseal]

If GWB wishes to be a one term president then all he has to do is twist some arms to get the so called AWB extended. The critical date ia 14 September 2004.