McCarthy to Introduce Assault Weapons Ban Next Week

[danprkr]

I can't attribute this because it was many years ago in the library, but I read an article that our reps tend to make files of letters on a given issue. They also know that each letter that makes it to their mail box equals so many actual voters who feel that way about a given issue. So, keep the pressure on, keep that file growing, and they'll be able to say truthfully (I wonder if it'll feel strange to them to be telling the truth?) that their constituents have demanded that this bill not be supported.

Of course what they're meaning is, "Don't make me vote for this or I'll get unelected, and have to work for a living." But, whatever it takes to make them behave.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Assault weapon legislation is NOT about crime. Most real criminals plan on getting away with their crimes and prefer handguns because they are easy to hide under a shirt. This is about prohibiting you from owning the means to resist tyranical goverment.

 

[22-rimfire]

Has she introduced the legislation yet?

With the bipartisan vote on the guns portion of the credit card bill, I have to wonder if she will bother. I think they had a separate vote on that issue to take Congress's gun control temperature.

 

[christcorp]

The congress is not stupid. They remember quite well what happened when they got excited during Bill Clinton's first term and passed their assault weapons bill. Most of the Democrats lost their re-election in 1994. Also; they see the current stats. More 1st time gun buyers. Last 6 months has produced record gun sales and ammo sales. Concealed Weapon Permits are at an all time high. CNN has even reported polls that show where more than 50% of Americans use to believe we needed STRICTER gun laws; that number has dropped significantly. 65% of Americans now interpret the constitution as guaranteeing Americans the right to have and own a gun. The CNN polls done last month; http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/08/gun.control.poll/index.html showed that in 2001, 54% of Americans believed we needed stricter gun laws. By 2007, that dropped to 50%. The most recent CNN poll show that number has dropped to 39%.

Then, you now have a surge in membership of the NRA as well. With all these PRO-GUN occurrences, a politician; other than an uber liberal; would be nuts to try and push gun control laws through. Hell, the congress just voted overwhelmingly the credit bill that included carrying weapons in Federal Parks.

I actually believe because of the panic Obama and his administration; as well as the democratic congress; has put on Americans, our gun rights are actually probably safer today than they were a year ago.

 

[Buck Snort]

christcorp wrote: "I actually believe because of the panic Obama and his administration; as well as the democratic congress; has put on Americans, our gun rights are actually probably safer today than they were a year ago."

Essentially you are correct but we've got to avoid the mistake of slipping into compalcency. The moment the anti crowd senses that they'll be back full bore.

 

[alemonkey]

I'm curious, how many of McCarthy's bills have actually become law? It must be a very small percent.

I can't figure out how she keeps getting reelected. She's obviously a one-issue politician. I can't imagine she's done anything useful for the people she represents.

EDIT: Found this on govtrack.us:

Carolyn McCarthy has sponsored 122 bills since Jan 7, 1997. of which 116 haven't made it out of committee and 3 were successfully enacted.

Wow, that's some record!

 

[runrabbitrun]

So, she wants to ban machines guns?
You know, fully automatic guns, one pull
and a hail of bullets goes flying out killing all the 'children'.
Isn't that truly what an assault weapons is?

Or is an assault weapon ANYTHING that can be used to 'assault' someone with?

 

[DeepSouth]

I think it's high time it impeach politicians who swore an oath
to uphold the constitution, yet break that very oath the moment they are in office.

There wouldn't be anyone left.

 

[Animal Mother]

I'm curious, how many of McCarthy's bills have actually become law? It must be a very small percent.

IIRC, the only bill that she has actually introduced (not just sponsored) which went on to became law was (ironically enough) the NRA-sponsored HR-2640 which tightened the NCIS check for mentally unstable people.

 

[22-rimfire]

We will continue to hear Pelosi and others stating that the Congress is scared of the NRA. I find this humorous. They are scared of the voters, not the NRA. But I like 'em scared. Checks and Balances.... they will go the Supreme Court route if nothing happens legislatively. Probably will be another DC case.

 

[2ndAmFan]

I wrote to my Senators and Representative a couple of days ago. I get tired of doing that so much considering this is a Constitutional rights issue and as such shouldn't even be open for debate, but the antis aren't letting it go so I'm not either.

 

[chuckusaret]

Carolyn McCarthy has sponsored 122 bills since Jan 7, 1997. of which 116 haven't made it out of committee and 3 were successfully enacted

Terrible approval record, 3 bills approved in 12 years and the people keep re-electing her. Glad I don't live in her district or her state for that matter. Doesn't say much for the voters.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Terrible approval record, 3 bills approved in 12 years and the people keep re-electing her.

I suspect she is shoveled TRUCKLOADS of money from the Brady Campaign etc. Don't know that to be a fact but I've always assumed that was the case.

 

[mugsie]

I hate this crap

I was living on Long Island when McCarthys husband was killed and her son shot. She gained her seat through the sympathy vote. Instead of the woman realizing the obvious, that if someone, anyone on that train that day would have had a gun, Colin Fergeson may have been stopped before he did as much damage as he did. Look at Bernie Getz, who shot his four assailants. He stopped them and no one else was injured. Fergeson would have been silenced too should one of the sheeple had had a gun. McCarthy needs to be voted out of office. She will always vote her opinion and not what her constituents want. She is a sheeple. She will always be a sheeple. Of course she also has federal protection, yet she would deny us our right to self defense.
I have the lowest opinion of Carolyn McCarthy that anyone can possibly have. She needs to be voted out. Get active people. Write letters. Support the NRA. Get and stay active. When you're sleeping the anti's are working on eliminating our right to keep and bear arms. Don't let them.

 

[wvshooter]

The gauntlet has been thrown down. Anti gun legislation of any kind is going nowhere. Democrats vunerable in the upcomming mid term elections are looking for issues like these to distance themselves from Obama and the anti gun radical liberal crowd. You saw it with the administration's desire to bring the Gitmo terrorists onto American soil. If the Gitmo people ever make it onto American soil you will see Dem senators and congressmen losing in bunches in 2010. Talk about giving republican canidates something to run on!!!

 

[22-rimfire]

Even Pelosi doesn't want the Gitmo prisoners housed in CA.

 

[FiREhAwk]

Hopefully as gun control goes farther down in Democrats political priority list, these one issue members like Mccarthy will lose support and be voted out of DC. Even if they (she) lose in a primary to a lesser extremeist Democrat who goes on to win the general it will be for the better.

 

[TooTaxed]

In sending letters to your Congress-persons (!), I recommend you reference the annual report the FBI presents to Congress concerning crime in the United States. That report provides a lot of statistics, one of which is that assault weapons are used in less than 1% of crimes. Therefore an assault weapons ban would have essentially no effect in reducing crime, but would certainly inconvenience a huge number of American citizens...who vote!

You can also reference the several research studies of prison inmates imprisoned for crimes using guns.

The largest was a study conducted by two of the most vehement anti-gun spokesmen of their day, Professors James D. Wright and Peter H. Rossi, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. They performed in-depth interviews with 1,874 inmates who had used weapons in crime, incarcerated in federal prisons in ten states in 1982 and 1983 to determine their attitudes on weapons choice, deterrence, firearms acquisition, and attitudes towards gun control. Wright and Rossi have performed two studies, well worth your research for material to refute anti-gunners! They came up with nothing to support anti-gunners or increased gun restrictions, to their great surprise.

I participated in a similar study in California in 2003...that study was essentially buried as it did not prove the Mayor's beliefs. The 20 inmates that our team interviewed all preferred pistols such as the police carry...small, easy to conceal and use (but not small caliber or cheap pistols). None preferred assault weapons...large, heavy, hard to hide and attention getting, noisy and more complex to operate. (Some owned assault weapons when arrested...but they were for self-protection and recreational shooting, not used in crime.)

There are doubtless other studies...