wingedmonkey
Member
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the champion of the ill-conceived "assault weapons" ban appears to have essentially given up on getting a renewal passed before the ban expires in September, acknowledging that, "while the ban has 52 votes in its favor in the Senate, it is unlikely to pass in the House of Representatives."
While she may very well proceed with another attempt to get a renewal passed in the Senate, she is well aware that the House has expressed no interest in bringing the measure up, and even if it does make it to the floor, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) is confident the votes "are not there" for the bill to succeed.
Feinstein is reportedly "looking toward November's elections to produce a president and a House leadership more supportive of gun control" and plans to launch a "nationwide effort" next year to pass a ban "similar" to (translation: more restrictive than) the current ban.
While it would be foolish to take her statements at face value, and assume that we have indeed won this round, it should be noted that the upcoming elections will be every bit as crucial to the 2002 elections that gave us the current congress. This battle will not be over on September 13th. The anti-gun crowd will be boiling over with bitterness over having lost on this issue, and will be lashing out to whoever is willing to listen.
At this point, the only hope for revitalizing the gun control movement, which has been foundering for several years, will be to get John Kerry elected president, and/or gain a significant number of seats in congress, so that a new "assault weapons" ban can be passed and signed into law.
In other words, DO NOT make the mistake of thinking that, if the ban does indeed expire in September, our work is done. It will, in fact, have only just begun, with a successful 2004 election being an integral part of ensuring our victory is not short-lived.
For more see
Assault Weapons Ban Sunset
While she may very well proceed with another attempt to get a renewal passed in the Senate, she is well aware that the House has expressed no interest in bringing the measure up, and even if it does make it to the floor, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) is confident the votes "are not there" for the bill to succeed.
Feinstein is reportedly "looking toward November's elections to produce a president and a House leadership more supportive of gun control" and plans to launch a "nationwide effort" next year to pass a ban "similar" to (translation: more restrictive than) the current ban.
While it would be foolish to take her statements at face value, and assume that we have indeed won this round, it should be noted that the upcoming elections will be every bit as crucial to the 2002 elections that gave us the current congress. This battle will not be over on September 13th. The anti-gun crowd will be boiling over with bitterness over having lost on this issue, and will be lashing out to whoever is willing to listen.
At this point, the only hope for revitalizing the gun control movement, which has been foundering for several years, will be to get John Kerry elected president, and/or gain a significant number of seats in congress, so that a new "assault weapons" ban can be passed and signed into law.
In other words, DO NOT make the mistake of thinking that, if the ban does indeed expire in September, our work is done. It will, in fact, have only just begun, with a successful 2004 election being an integral part of ensuring our victory is not short-lived.
For more see
Assault Weapons Ban Sunset
