September 9, 2004
WHY ALL THE SILENCE?
For the last 10 years, it has been illegal in the United States to manufacture or distribute some of the most deadly semi-automatic guns in the world. The majority of U.S. citizens support the Assault Weapons Ban, and at least by some measures, gun violence has decreased since the ban went into effect. So why are most members of Congress, President Bush, and John Kerry all looking the other way while this law is set to expire next week?
In 1994, Congress passed, and President Clinton signed the assault weapons ban, effectively making 19 different types of semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines illegal. Of course, this wasn't a complete ban--guns already on the market were exempted, and an additional 650 types of semiautomatic weapons commonly used for self-defense, hunting and target practice were allowed. Critics and supporters of the ban agreed that the law had flaws, but now, some 10 years later, polls still show that most U.S. citizens support the law.
When it passed, the assault weapons ban had a political addendum known as a sunset clause--meaning that the law would expire in 10 years if Congress didn't vote to extend it. Next Monday will mark that 10 year deadline, and The House of Representatives' Majority Leader, a goon by the name of Tom Delay, has said that he's unwilling to allow the reauthorization of the ban to come up for another vote, and the Bush administration has signaled that it will not urge him to do so. Even John Kerry has kept relatively quiet on this issue.
Why all the political silence on an issue that so many U.S. citizens say they support?
During his campaign for office, then Texas Governor Bush pledged to support renewing the assault weapons ban, and as recently as May of this year, White House spokesman Scott McClellan reiterated the President's support for re-authorizing the ban when he said: "The President supports the current law, and he supports re-authorization of the current law." Yet yesterday afternoon McClellan had this to say at a White House press briefing:
"The President's views have been made very clear, and the best way we can reduce crimes committed with guns is to strictly enforce our laws. And prosecutions under this administration are up. I think it's -- well, it's more than 60 percent -- I think 68 percent over the previous administration. That's the best way to crack down on crimes committed with guns. That's an important issue here in terms of the assault weapons ban."
Why the turnaround? Why aren't more people outraged?
Posted by Mikal at September 9, 2004 5:28 AM
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The answer is quite simple Mikal. The majority of Americans clearly do not support the ban. We live in a democracy and if the congress, who represent the voice of their local constituency, have heard from their local constituents on this issue, they would have voted accordingly.
While I respect your right to be upset over the lifting of the ban, you must also respect the right of the vast majority of Americans who supported lifting the ban. I myself did not support lifting the ban, but such is life in a democracy and you can't win them all.
Not sure if you saw the recent picture of Kerry holding up an assault rifle that he was given as a gift at a recent rally, but it was a very telling photo opp and even more telling was Kerry saying, "Well I can't take this to the debates!"
On a related note, the assault rifle that Kerry accepted as a a gift that day was on the list of banned weapons on the law that Kerry himself had failed to get passed through Congress. Nor was Kerry run through a background check or waiting period as required by law when purchaseing or receiving a weapon as a gift, which is also illegal. Hmmm....
