Another gun quote challenge:

[spin]

Who said this?

“This is a matter of vital importance to the public safety ... While we recognize that assault-weapon legislation will not stop all assault-weapon crime, statistics prove that we can dry up the supply of these guns, making them less accessible to criminals.”

Here's your choices: Obama, Feinstein, or Reagan?

First take your quess and then find the answer at:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/12/reagan-obama-feinstein-gun-quiz.html

[Shrike47]

2. Gee, I got them all right.

Bet the hate radio guys aren't acknowledging these quotes.

[chicoguy]

3. I am

pretty sure that was Reagan.

[spin]

4. And ...

Ron Raygun was just one of many well known Republicans who have supported what many gun owners today would consider draconian gun laws.

Even John McCain and Mitt Romney were not always strong 2nd Amendment rights advocates. They pandered to gun owners when they ran for the Presidency in order to garner votes.

It is my honest opinion that if many Republicans thought they could benefit they would sell out the NRA and gun owners in a heartbeat. Republicans are often two faced and talk out of both sides of their mouths. Unfortunately many Democrats in office play the same game.

I may be wrong and we all will find out shortly, but as I post this I feel Obama will put some good ideas on the table that may actually become law. Of course he will push for another assault weapons ban and a ban on hi-cap magazines but it is wise to always ask for more than you expect to get.

Obama was actually very friendly to gun owners during his first term and I don't believe that he will suddenly turn into a "gun-grabber" overnight.

I will even go so far as to suggest that if your ONLY important issue in politics is the confiscation of all firearms or all semi-auto firearms, you might have been wiser to vote for Mitt Romney. If he were in office today he would be doing his best to push for a very strong assault weapons ban at the minimum. Let me suggest that if the 1% in our nation had their choice only they would be able to own firearms and there is no doubt that Romney is a member of the very elite rich.

I have to admit that I am greatly concerned that a number of gun owners actually believe all the propaganda from the far right that Obama is a serious threat to our nation. It's fine in a democracy such as ours to have an emotional debate but some on the far right are suggesting an insurrection. This is totally irresponsible and might lead to bloodshed. If that does happen we might actually see some truly draconian gun legislation as 99.99 percent of our citizens do not believe that now is NOT the time to water the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots. Now is the time to have an honest debate over gun control and pass some legislation that will help curtail the criminal misuse of firearms and the tragic massacres that have recently occurred.

[chicoguy]

5. I agree with everything you said

I am a pretty hard core gun rights supporter, but it is very difficult for me to stomach the dogma on a lot of "gun rights" forums.

This hatred of Obama is most puzzling. I have a distaste for Obama for a lot of reasons, for example his scary stance on things like the patriot act, FISA, this drone war. These policies are never debated, and both Republicans and Democrats are fully on-board with them. But Obama's only policy on guns while he has been president has been to allow concealed carry in national parks, and allow for transport of your firearms on checked luggage on Amtrak (just like in a plane). Obama is not an enemy of the 2nd amendment, so far as I have seen, at least as president.

Further I would say, all in all, he has been a pretty good president.

[spin]

6. Obama is far better than John McCain would have been. (n/t)

[Jenoch]

7. Even if Reagan said those words,

at the time he said them there were only a fraction of the assault-weapons in circulation then when compared to now.

[spin]

8. That's very true. ...

I remember those days well.

Prior to the proposal to pass the first assault weapons ban the regular shooters at the ranges I visited weekly had little desire to own a AR-15. They had a reputation as being unreliable and inaccurate. Most hunters felt they were underpowered for deer and too inaccurate for varmint shooting. Few people had any desire to own one.

Interest grew during the debate over the first AWB but still most shooters I knew had little desire to own an AR style rifle. A few did buy one and reported that they actually were fairly accurate and rarely jammed. Some shooters discovered semi-auto AK-47 clones which were very cheap and found shooting them fun and inexpensive.

The first AWB didn't really "ban" these rifles. Manufacturers simply eliminated a couple of features like bayonet lugs or flash suppressors and continued to make them.

Often when you ban something its popularity grows. This proved true with firearms like the AR-15. A couple of years after the AWB passed, most of the shooters I knew who originally had no interest in an AR-15 had bought one and several high capacity magazines for it. Also people I knew at work who rarely went to a range were buying these firearms.

I haven't verified these figures but I have heard that prior to the AWB there were only a couple of hundred thousand AR-15s in civilian hands and today there are 10 million.

The gun control movement is largely responsible for the fact the the AR-15 is the best selling rifle in our nation today.

December 18, 2012 8:21 AM
Popular AR-15 rifle at center of gun control debate

(CBS News) Much of the recent gun control debate focuses on the AR-15, the most popular rifle in America -- and the same model of rifle that the shooter in the Newtown, Conn., massacre used on Friday to gun down 26 people, including 20 children age 6 and 7.

Gun control advocates can't imagine why any law-abiding citizen would want or need a powerful, military-style gun like the AR-15. But among gun enthusiasts the followers number in the millions.

***snip***

Many Democrats in Congress are planning an effort to try to ban military-style rifles. But gun store owners tell CBS News that no one should underestimate how passionately gun owners feel about their AR-15s. They say next week there will be thousands upon thousands under the Christmas tree.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57559725/popular-ar-15-rifle-at-center-of-gun-control-debate/

In passing I should point out that I own no assault style rifles nor do I own any pistols with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

[Jenoch]

9. I have a Ruger 10/.22 that

could be mean and scary looking with a few after-market parts.

[spin]

10. I had a co-worker and friend who did modify his Ruger 10/.22 ...

and it was a very scary looking firearm.

[Jenoch]

11. I did and internet search

and discovered that the New York magazine story from December is wrong. I found a contemporaneous story from the LA Times from May 1994 that said the quote was from a letter to congress signed by Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

http://articles.latimes.com/1994-05-05/news/mn-54185_1_assault-weapons-ban

[spin]

12. Interesting. Thanks for the info. (n/t)