Dems Introduce "Assault" Weapons Ban

[OliverQ]

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/375659-dems-introduce-assault-weapons-ban

Lots of people saying this is a terrible idea 7 months before mid-terms and this will energize the right, destroying any hope of a Blue Wave.


Good idea, or terrible idea? Are we screwing ourselves over again?

[Fred Sanders]

1. FFS, who are these "lots of people"?

[gratuitous]

25. You know, people

Lots of them. Aren't you concerned about lots of people?

[Motownman78]

45. I remember 1994

Lots of people were enough to cost Democrats a 54 seat swing.

[gratuitous]

46. Uh huh

Your concern is truly touching.

[mcar]

2. Great idea

Our Dems are standing up for safety and sanity. This is sponsored by Ted Deutsch, Parkland is in his district.

It'll go nowhere, of course, but I applaud it.

[chumpchange]

3. The bill sponsors...

Just ensured hundreds of thousands (minimum) of ARs will be sold as fast as they can be shipped, the NRA and various related state organizations will be signing up oodles of new members, and millions of rounds of ammo will be flying off the shelves every week. All for nothing, since I can't imagine this will even get out of committee.

[NightWatcher]

4. The same 35% that will come out for guns will vote repuke anyway

We can dip into the 50% who never vote but believe that some gun control is needed.

[SharonClark]

5. Good idea.

[Turbineguy]

6. There's the NRA Members.

And there's people who don't want their children shot.

Let's hope the second group shows up and votes.

[brettdale]

7. Sometimes you have to do whats right

And not worry about winning or losing.

[OliverQ]

13. I agree, but if we don't win in November, the US is finished.

So it truly is a matter of winning or losing, because losing is the end of the country.

[Phoenix61]

8. Excellent idea

If for no other reason than he said he would. Sadly, IMHO it will get shoved into committee and promptly lost.

[samir.g]

9. Looks like this has a much broader reach than the original AWB

Pistols with threaded barrels, shotguns over 5 rounds. Lot more rifles, too.

[Initech]

10. Why can't we ever talk about guns?

Why do guns always have to be a taboo subject? Gun violence is worse than ever and the NRA seems hell bent on making us all get guns whether we like it or not. Every time a mass shooting happens it's never the time time to talk about it. But when is the right time to talk about it? Ever? I'm glad people are finally starting to wake up.

[OliverQ]

14. Because guns are a fetish in this country

and right-wingers are obsessed with them. Any talk of guns makes at least 1/3 of this country absolutely rabid.

[Initech]

17. I think America is addicted to guns.

And the NRA, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Infowars are enablers who are feeding the addiction and making things worse, We need to rid these people from our country if we are to get things back on the right track.

[aikoaiko]

20. Gun violence is not worse than ever. Its down substantiall since the mide 1990s.

really,

[ginnyinWI]

27. The NRA lady always calls them "firearms". As if that helps. nt

[NickB79]

11. It's flawed, because there is no functional definition of "assault rifle"

Every time an assault rifle ban has been enacted on a state or federal level, gun makers just remove the banned features and sell more guns that are now compliant.

It happened after the 1994 AWB.

It happened in California.

It happened in Connecticut.

It happened in New York.

[Canoe52]

15. We should simplify the definition then, anything that shoots a bullet will be banned.

I think that only leaves BB guns and air rifles, oh crossbows, they will still have crossbows!

[NickB79]

18. I prefer addressing the magazines

People frequently cite Canada for their sane gun laws, but there are many Canada-legal rifles we'd call assault rifles. Yet they have nothing like our gun crime. Part of this is that firearms are generally restricted to no more than 5-10 rounds.

Remove the high-capacity magazines and you drastically reduce the gun's killing ability. I am of the opinion this is an easier and just as effective route as an assault rifle ban.

[Canoe52]

22. That kinda went over your head, didnt it?

[NickB79]

35. I'm not here to make jokes

I want solutions to gun violence that have a real chance of being implemented and working.

[Canoe52]

43. Have you called your elected representatives, written?

Are you marching march 24th?
Donated to March For Our Lives?
That’s what will make a change, not discussing the “fine points” with me about stupid magazines.

You know who hasn’t done any of that? republicans.

I’m sick and tired reading about people getting slaughtered, of kids that could have been my kids coming home as human hamburger.

To me a gun is a fucking gun, magazine or no magazine.

At this point in time I say ban all guns and send all the gun humpers a thought and prayers card over losing their best friends (I’m referring to their guns in case the reference missed someone).

Because a lot of people have lost their loved ones and all they got is a fucking card in return.

How’s that for not making jokes, that work for you?

[NickB79]

47. Yes I have. Two years ago, in fact, after an incident at my daughter's school

I emailed them again last week. My local rep is a Republican, so I don't expect much of him, but my state legislator I have higher hopes for.

But all that means jack shit when our choices on how to respond to gun violence are increasingly being pigeon-holed into two camps: do nothing, or ban them all and melt them down. Because I guarantee you, if those are our only choices as a nation, I have no doubt which camp will win, and it ain't the camp you hope it will be.

I recognize that bills like the one in the OP are at best worthless, because they have zero chance of passing, even if we had control of the House, Senate and White House, because we could never muster the votes from Dems in rural areas to pass it. At worst it will turn states like mine, which has been trending purple in recent years from solidly blue, into another god-damn Wisconsin, Iowa or Kansas.

So, I'm sorry that you don't feel the need to discuss the "fine points" of quality, bipartisan, PASSABLE legislation because your rage blinds you, but I'm not ready to give up like that. I want laws that will make my kid safer, even if they aren't the perfectly polished, quintessential Uber-Law that will guarantee once and for all that there will be no more school shootings ever again.

You see, I too worry about my child coming home from school. Thanks to an idiot shooting squirrels off his bird feeder with a realistic-looking pellet gun two years ago, my daughter's school (she was in kindergarten) went into lockdown and SWAT teams swarmed the neighborhood until they determined it was a false alarm: https://www.twincities.com/2016/09/19/farmington-mn-schools-lock-down-active-shooter-police/

At the time all I could think about was Sandy Hook. I remember watching the news and holding my daughter as a baby when CNN covered that massacre, looking down at her and sobbing, and I sobbed when I finally got to hold her again that afternoon after her school locked down. So I know all too well the heart-stopping fear that comes with wondering if you'll ever see your child again. And every day we keep throwing out legislation that has absolutely no chance of passing is another day my daughter is at an increased risk from a deranged shooter. At this point, I'll take a high-capacity magazine ban and a Universal Background Check law, because it sure as fuck beats sitting around for another 5 years with our collective thumbs up our asses like America has done since 20 kindergartners were gunned down.

Does that work for you?

[Canoe52]

48. TLDR

[kacekwl]

12. It's time we act like members of the Democratic party

Not repuke lite. The response that they will vote republican no matter what is correct. Let's aim for the majority who favor sensible regulation not the all or nothing crowd.

[NewDem17]

38. Agreed!

Ban and Confiscate, it is our only choice.

Those who stand against the law will have to face the repercussions. Guns have no place in this country, they will just have to give them up voluntarily or involuntarily.

[NCTraveler]

16. Good idea.

It’s not going to happen. We get to discuss it publicly, warm people up to it, then Speaker Pelosi will introduce something more aggressive in about a year. This doesn’t hurt us. We need some more space between Republicans podsitions on guns and ours.

[NickB79]

19. If this passed, my purple state (MN) would turn red

I'd bet $100 on it.

[onecaliberal]

29. The people of your state will suffer the consequence we cannot sit by and watch people die because

Last edited Tue Feb 27, 2018, 11:08 AM - Edit history (1)

We can’t find the courage to do the right thing. We MUST do something now

[NewDem17]

40. Ban and Confiscate.

Are the only choice. If we do not send in our police and military to confiscate all firearms banning them will do no good. There are to many on the streets as is. We must remove them, and arrest anyone who doesn't willingly give them up.

[onecaliberal]

41. Yup

[obamanut2012]

39. Doubtful

[NickB79]

44. Do you live in MN?

We used to be able to reliably claim the northern third of the state as blue due to strong unions; it went for Trump last election. The central and southwest portions of the state are solidly red. The only thing keeping us purple is the Twin Cities and the Governor, but the House and Senate are now Republican controlled.

I work in a Teamster's union factory in a suburb of the Twin Cities, and a LOT of my coworkers refused to vote for Hillary specifically due to fears of gun control even though the Teamsters endorsed her. I was vocal in trying to get her votes, and that came up repeatedly. These are otherwise intelligent guys, but hunting and gun ownership is sacred here. I know just as many Democrats who own guns as Republicans.

Even my own grandfather, who did 40 years in the 49ers Union working a dragline crane, and has been a Democrat almost as long, was bitching about gun control before the election due to his love of hunting. He has nothing but hunting rifles and shotguns, no handguns or AR's, but he still refused to vote Dem last election.

So from where I sit, an assault weapons ban will turn my state into another shithole like Wisconsin or Kansas.

[Wwcd]

21. This is the Author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban

Follow Her Lead..or sit quietly & do nothing for those who demand this finally begins to move forward

Link to tweet

?s=20

[applegrove]

26. 70% want to see some better gun control. Poll came out last night.

[onecaliberal]

28. This is going to cement republicans as being the party that will not part with their campaign

donations. Not even to save the lives of children. They are evil greedy assholes. We should bring up the same legislation over and over and over until the pukes are all removed.

[spanone]

30. Thank You Dems!!!!

[lunasun]

31. Some people say it is a good idea and the last ban should not have expired in 2004

[CozyMystery]

32. My question is -- What about automatic weapons?

Or semi-automatic weapons converted to automatic?

[aikoaiko]

33. Automatic weapons are already tightly controlled since 1930s and

And relatively rare and pricey since the 1980s. They are not used in any crimes let alone killings.

Most semiautos are not easily converted to full auto unless you count bump stocks.

[TheSmarterDog]

34. "Assault" Weapons? Why do you have assault in quotes?

It doesn't appear that way in your link.

These weapons are designed to kill large numbers of people as quickly as possible. This is the very definition of an assault weapon. Seems that with your editorializing you're trying to insinuate they aren't.

[NewDem17]

36. The Bill

[link:https://www.scribd.com/document/372469353/Assault-Weapons-Ban-of-2018#from_embed|

Here's the actual bill. Looks good, will outlaw every rifle and handgun on the market.

Only thing that will remain legal is a few shotguns and a few hunting rifles. Everything else will have to be turned in, this could open the door for proper confiscation and allows us to finally get guns off the streets.

Hopefully once we do that we can proceed on getting rid of the remaining shotguns and hunting rifles. There is no use for any gun in this day and age. Grocery stores have everything anyone can need, no one needs to "Hunt for food".

[obamanut2012]

37. Are you concerned about this?

I'm not.

[MineralMan]

42. Lots of people you know?

Tell us more.