(not sure what happened to my THR account, had to create a new one...)
Let me interject something here, which I don't think has been brought up.
I know a lot of you are writing to your Senators and Congressmen about this AWB bill. And it's commendable that you do so, as I also don't believe in any gun restrictions even going back to the NFA. This next go-around for President in '08, I will probably vote for the Constitution Party, for the first time not voting for the Republican party.
As most of you know, the Liberal Democrats are all about C-O-N-T-R-O-L. They stay in power by controlling what people can and cannot do. Their ultimate goal is probably that people no longer think for themselves, and government does all the thinking for you. This should be of no surprise to any of you, as Liberal Democrats are more Socialist leaning on the political scale.
With that said, consider the AWB and what Thomas Jefferson wrote, "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The tyrants who our country's founding fathers referred to was the Gov't who we had just rebelled against and the Gov't which was soon to be put in place.
The Assault Weapons Ban bill has nothing to do about public safety.
Let me say it again, as there's over 5 pages here discussing public safety, AR-15 rifles, high-cap magazines, and this HR 1022 bill.
The Assault Weapons Ban bill has nothing to do about public safety. It has everything to do with the Liberal Democrats in Gov't wanting to maintain (here's that word again) control over the population. With such "assault" weapons in the hands of civilians, we are on equal footing with the police. In the minds of Liberal Democrats, the law enforcement arm of Gov't cannot be on equal footing with it's citizens if it wants to continue to maintain control.
The Gov't is afraid of people like you and I having weapons which put us on equal footing with them (and their law enforcement arm, the police).
The Assault Weapons Ban bill has nothing to do with public safety, it has everything to do with Gov't maintaining control over the citizens.
Writing to your Senators and Congressmen is a noble cause. I support your efforts. However, I think that at the same time as you write your letters and voice your displeasure, you should also be ordering more high-cap magazines, more packs of ammo, and even more AR and AK weapons.
I am not going to bring up the big "R" word, there's no need for it. But I just want to simply state the obvious of why Liberal Democrats are in favor of the AWB, gun registration, and other gun control laws, and to remind you what our country's founding fathers felt about the gov't and our duties and responsibility to our country as American citizens to keep gov't in check.