What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Oh Capslock....................

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
The Ban Expired in 2004 During the Bush Administration.

By JASON RYAN
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2009


The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration.

As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.

Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.

A State Department travel warning issued Feb. 20, 2009, reflected government concerns about the violence.

"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico, but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez."

At the news conference today, Holder described his discussions with his Mexican counterpart about the recent spike in violence.

"I met yesterday with Attorney General Medina Mora of Mexico, and we discussed the unprecedented levels of violence his country is facing because of their enforcement efforts," he said.

Holder declined to offer any time frame for the reimplementation of the assault weapons ban, however.

"It's something, as I said, that the president talked about during the campaign," he said. "There are obviously a number of things that are -- that have been taking up a substantial amount of his time, and so, I'm not sure exactly what the sequencing will be."

In a brief interview with ABC News, Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association, said, "I think there are a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill cringing at Eric Holder's comments right now."

During his confirmation hearing, Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee about other gun control measures the Obama administration may consider.

"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C. v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's right to own a weapon.


The Assault Weapons Ban signed into law by President Clinton in 1994 banned 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns and ammunition clips with more than 10 rounds.

"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by American citizens in this country," LaPierre said. "I think it is clearly covered under Heller and it's clearly, I think, protected by the Constitution."


now lets look at the facts........

#1 why do we care about gun violence in Mexico? it is the Mexican Governments job to do that

#2 this ban has NOT ONE THING to do with the weapons that are causing the issue for Mexicans, our federal government has regulated machine guns since the 1920's......fully automatic weapons are what is causing issues in Mexico if yah want to go that direction and they are not getting there via the USA, they are coming up from Columbia and other places south of them......the ONLY ppl that can purchase newly manufactured fully automatic weapons are police forces and the US government......if i chose to jump through all the hoops to get a fully automatic rifle i can only buy one made prior to 1986 that is already in this country and owned by someone else who also has the same class 3 license.....if those points arent followed i go to jail.....not to mention ive got to jump through the hoops each and every time i purchase another fully auto weapon......

this is a bunch of BS, the "assult weapons" ban did nothing for gun crime the first time around and didnt raise it at all when it sunset in 2004.......this is a bunch of BS gun grabbing legislation.......kinda like you said wouldnt happen........
 
The reason we care is because they are dragging the violence up into America. Plus the less guns on the streets the better!

Even up here in Madison, Wisconsin we have a problem with Hispanic Gangs like MS13 or the Latin Kings. I understand why this needs to be done.

I'm not trying to be racist, because Wisconsin has a ton of crazy white people so LOL.
 
once again those guns are coming from Mexico's southern border, not their northern one.....we ARE NOT the ones supplying them with automatic weapons other than those sold to the Mexican police.....this piece of legislation will do nothing to stop any violence what so ever just like it didnt in 1994, just like it didnt change the rates of gun violence when it went away in 2004...........
 
The way I see it, gun bans do nothing except keep law-abiding people from owning them. Gangs, criminals, etc. will get their guns one way or another. There's not much of a point to bans like this.
 
Well, first of all, guns ARE pouring over the border into Mexico. I'm aware you cannot buy a "fully automatic" gun here in the states, but rattler, we both know that it's relatively trivial to modify the semi-automatics to be fully automatic. And the drug cartels use any and all guns available, not just fully automatic ones. The Mexican government is complaining about the flow of guns from the US, and indeed the drug cartel violence is exploding in border towns, so the issue is real.

Anyway, this isn't a NEW policy - we've had the same assault weapons ban before and we lived through it. You can still amass an arsenal in short order if you want. There will always be some regulation on firearms, and the only question is where you draw the line. Obama is using a Clinton-like line, which in your opinion goes too far, but again, it's not a NEW gun-grabbing policy (in fact, no guns are taken away.)

I'm interested in where you stand on the ban on fully automatic guns - is that the proper line? What principle should we use to determine where that line is? As you know, I'm a San Francisco liberal Obama supporter, but I'm also a gun owner, and I don't agree with the assault weapons ban, but it's also not the end of the world. I can still go buy all kiinds of crazy guns. I realize there will always be gun regulation, and that the line will shift slightly from time to time. I just don't see anything here threatening our fundamental right to own guns and defend ourselves.

Capslock
 
no it is not the same, there is a bunch of extra stuff tacked on such as language that will severely limit the sale and such from person to person, as in ill be unable or atleast very difficult for me to sell a gun to my brother whom i know to be a law abiding citizen.....not to mention it did NOTHING for crime during the Clinton years so why would you want more legislation, spend more tax dollars on something thats PROVEN not to work?........

as far as the flow of arms, into Mexico.....why would criminals go through the effort to modify one from the US when they can by them fully automatic from Peru, Columbia, El Salvador and Nicaragua.....you can find a fully automatic AK47 in El Salvador for less than you can buy a semi auto one for in the USA...

as far as stuff crossing the border illegally doesnt it make more seance to tighten up border security rather than outlaw a group of firearms that in the US are used in such a low percentage of crime that it is statistically irrelevant(under 1%)....do a heck of alot more good.......

as for my position on automatic weapons.......i believe any law abiding citizen should be able to own one if they want.....course i also believe in severely punishing anyone that uses a gun in the commission of a crime, be it a fully auto AK or a black powder pistol or even if they use a pocket knife....more punishment than is doled out now.....use of a weapon means intent to kill, doesnt matter if its a gun or lead pipe....self defense is another area completely though.........
 
............and so it begins.
 
Back
Top