Summary of Feinstein's Proposed New Gun Control Law

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

All of Utah's reps, including our lone Democrat are solid.

Apparently you haven't heard of Chris Stewart.

 

[SuperNaut]

Apparently you haven't heard of Chris Stewart.

He just backtracked, or clarified, or denied it on his FB page:

Hey friends!

I've received a lot of phone calls today regarding a few articles and I think it's necessary to make myself clear: I fully support the right to keep and bear arms as stated in the Second Amendment and I don't support any abridgment to that right.

I will fight any attempts to weaken our 2nd amendment rights. I do not believe that limiting assault weapons nor magazine capacities is appropriate under the Second Amendment. Furthermore, I do not believe that taking such steps would have any practical effect on limiting gun violence.

I was very clear on these points throughout the interview with the Salt Lake Tribune. However, as happens too often, the story took one observation I made about the usefulness of high-capacity magazines and turned it into a headline that did not reflect my actual views.

Not everything you read in the press accurately reflects my positions and I will stumble sometimes as well. Thanks for all the outreach, and I'll try to respond to each of your messages.

Best Wishes,

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Supernaut, thanks for the update. I'm still curious what his "one observation I made about the usefulness of high-capacity magazines" was supposed to mean.

 

[SuperNaut]

Yep, and his "other things" comment has definitely attracted my attention.

 

[mljdeckard]

(My post to congressman elect Stewart. He is my congressman, and I have spoken to him about these things personally.)

Congressman Stewart;

I am posting this mostly out of due dilligence, but I think that it's an important enough issue that it deserves a comment.

Many in the gun community are acting defeated, as in, due to recent horrible events, we are facing inevitable new restrictive gun laws. I am trying to calm people down, telling them, the majority of the members of congress in both parties respect the origins and intent of the Second Amendment, and will not allow the rights of Americans to be trampled because of what a crazy person chooses to do.

I know you know this. I am proud to be able to tell people; "I don't need to worry about my representatives from Utah, including our lone Democrat, because they aren't at all in confusion about the desires of their constituents, and they know better than to allow themselves to be bullied by those who think that restricting our rights would make us safer."

The call for new gun laws may have fizzled by the time you take office. But I think that a lot of your constituents, myself included, would be reassured to hear a statement from you, clarifying your unequivocal support for our Second amendment rights. In whatever forum you feel appropriate, I would like to hear your affirmation.

Sincerely,

Mljdeckard, Stansbury Park, UT

(Subsequent replies)

Chris Stewart Check my most recent post on the page. In short, I don't support any abridgement to the 2nd Amendment and your right to bear arms.
4 hours ago

Yes sir, I did, and it was exactly what we needed to hear. I honestly think that this isn't nearly as big as Sen Feinstein wishes it was.

(His statement on the main page)

Chris Stewart
4 hours ago
Hey friends!

I've received a lot of phone calls today regarding a few articles and I think it's necessary to make myself clear: I fully support the right to keep and bear arms as stated in the Second Amendment and I don't support any abridgment to that right.

I will fight any attempts to weaken our 2nd amendment rights. I do not believe that limiting assault weapons nor magazine capacities is appropriate under the Second Amendment. Furthermore, I do not believe that taking such steps would have any practical effect on limiting gun violence.

I was very clear on these points throughout the interview with the Salt Lake Tribune. However, as happens too often, the story took one observation I made about the usefulness of high-capacity magazines and turned it into a headline that did not reflect my actual views.

Not everything you read in the press accurately reflects my positions and I will stumble sometimes as well. Thanks for all the outreach, and I'll try to respond to each of your messages.

Best Wishes,

 

[mljdeckard]

(Not sure how that double-tapped, I don't think it was originally.)

 

[LiveLife]

Interesting details in Gallup's new poll - http://news.yahoo.com/polls-show-movement-toward-stricter-gun-control-major-214208055.html

At the same time, however, most respondents (51-44 percent) say they’re against any law making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess "semi-automatic guns known as assault rifles.” And a very large majority (74-24 percent) opposes greater restrictions on the possession of handguns.

The bottom line in Gallup’s new polling?

“Americans favor new legislation to limit gun sales, presumably to help prevent the kind of gun violence that became all too familiar in 2012,” writes the polling organization’s Lydia Saad in an analysis. “This is seen in increased support for making the laws covering the sale of firearms more strict, and for passing new gun laws.”

There’s a significant caveat, however, Ms. Saad continues: “Views toward banning semi-automatic guns or assault rifles are unchanged, and – possibly reflecting Americans' desire to defend themselves given the rash of high-profile gun violence – a record-high 74 percent oppose preventing anyone but the police or other authorized officials from owning a handgun.”

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

One thing to always remember. The first words spoken are the true feelings of the individual and apology for what was said are usually a tatic to remove the speakers from the message their words put them in. Yes there are times when an individual is truly sorry but those instances are few and far between. In the case of politicians they are like bobbers on a windblown lake as they will say whatever they need to say to keep them afloat as in sill in office.

 

[mljdeckard]

No. I had spoken to Congressman elect Stewart about this before the primaries personally, I knew that he was being portrayed incorrectly and out of context.

 

[michaelbsc]

Sure, this has "no chance" of passing. But I can predict that soon before this comes up for a vote in Congress, we will see another, perhaps even more horrific, massacre of innocents, and Congress will cave.

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102294/Riding-the-Crime-Wave.aspx

The media feeds on itself and its own preconceived biases. So they'll report pea shooters to get this if they smell victory.

Anyone who thinks we can ever go back to sleep is not paying attention.

 

[ndh87]

I vote for the south to secede again

 

[barnbwt]

Now, with the proliferation of the Internet, the blurring of entertainment and news... the potential for “ride the wave reporting” has increased exponentially.

"crowd-sourcing," anyone?
Very intersting article, Michael, politicians certaintly love their crusades against those who can't vote back, don't they? Now that everyone over 18 is allowed to vote, there's only one scapegoat left...

Needless to say, if people would just take it upon themselves to defend their own stupid lives, none of these dumb "violence proposals" would be felt necessary

TCB

I vote for the south to secede again

Go watch Lincoln--not for the message/politics, but for a lesson in what measures our government is willing to take to ensure its supremacy in this land. This nation has never fought harder than to put down its own unruly citizens. As a Texan I sympathize with Southern Dissatisfaction, but please do not speak lightly of Secession.

 

[Tommygunn]

I vote for the south to secede again

Yea..... 'cause THAT worked so well the first time.....................!

 

[herkyguy]

secede and watch your whole world crumble around you....everything you've built, bought, and worked so hard for will go right down the drain...burned, confiscated or stolen.

not the correct course of action by any stretch of the imagination.

contact your state and federal representatives. be a responsible gun owner. take friends shooting. educate.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Go watch Lincoln--not for the message/politics, but for a lesson in what measures our government is willing to take to ensure its supremacy in this land. This nation has never fought harder than to put down its own unruly citizens. As a Texan I sympathize with Southern Dissatisfaction, but please do not speak lightly of Secession.

Not to mention that the whole North/South thing is ridiculously outdated. The issues that caused the first Civil war to fall upon mostly North/South state lines don't apply anymore. If one must look at it geographically, these days it is far more closely related to population density. Those who live close together in cities trending more towards the left. Large government agencies and social programs are a part of every day life. Everything from police to garbage men, superintendents of apartments, cabbies and buses, etc. They live in a world where no one knows how to survive without a massive net of other people and programs keeping each other alive an functional. So they relegate guns to the "security/police" aspect of that net. Not something for regular people to concern themselves with.

People who live farther away from the cities tend to be more liberty-minded because they see themselves more as individuals and must live life on their own. Fewer safety nets, less police, more reliance on doing and fixing things themselves. Guns are seen as a tool for normal life, whether to protect your family, recreation, or getting rid of pests on your property. Even people in suburbia are closer to this than if they were in a large city.

If you look at any state, north or south, the cities will typically be more left-leaning and more in favor of gun control or government control of life in general. Some states are more like that overall, but in general, political stances fall very close to population distributions.

 

[michaelbsc]

IF that were their goal, you might have a point. The trouble is, that's not their goal.

Hooray! The truth is out. Who said it's a propaganda battle a few pages ago?

What I was ranting about some days go was forcing a renegotiation of the goal.

Prior to the NRA news conference I kept saying, and wrote to the ILA suggesting, was that the NRA needs to go to various government and NGO organizations that deal with mental healthcare, and offer to twist Congressional arms for funding research into violence, teen crime, early diagnosis and treatment, etc.

The medical community - for the most part - views us as Neanderthals. And they are on the side of the grabbers. Not all of them, but a lot. Remember the thread some months ago about just owing guns being a condition alerting mental instability?

But all of these agencies, the National institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, plus others, are chronically short of one thing. Money.

The NRA is perceived as having lots of Congresscritters in its back pocket, and those Congresscritters have funding strings. I don't think LaPierre really has as many congressional offices under his thumb as the media makes out, but the NRA is no slouch.

If funding starts pouring into those pockets because of the gun community then the perception of the gun community will begin to change inside the medical community. Those directors are just politicians like everybody else in Washington.

So the professional community will begin jawing about "fixing the right problem" as well. After all, the last thing they want is for funding to blow away.

Listen people. This is not a stupid plan.

MB

 

[LiveLife]

Update from "Fox News Sunday" - Dianne Feinstein vs Lindsey Graham

"What she is proposing is a massive intervention,” Graham said. “Gun sales are up, and crime is down. You’re not going to be able to stop mass murderers with no criminal record just by taking my AR-15 and making me pay $200 and get my fingerprints and say I can’t buy another one.

"The best solution to protect children is to have somebody there to stop the shooter, not get everybody’s gun in the country."

...

Appearing on NBC’s "Meet the Press," President Obama, who supports an assault weapons ban, said such measures could only be enacted if the public puts pressure on Congress.

“We're not going to get this done unless the American people decide it's important,” Obama said.

“And so this is not going to be simply a matter of me spending political capital," Obama said. "One of the things that you learn, having now been in this office for four years, is the old adage of Abraham Lincoln's -- that with public opinion there's nothing you can't do and without public opinion there's very little you can get done in this town.”

Obama said he would make a series of proposals and put “my full weight behind it … but ultimately the way this is going to happen is because the American people say, ‘That's right. We are willing to make different choices for the country and we support those in Congress who are willing to take those actions.’ And will there be resistance? Absolutely there will be resistance.”

This is from Feinstein who "values" self-defense and concealed carry? - http://www.mrctv.org/videos/feinste...ow-urge-arm-yourself-because-thats-what-i-did

"I know the urge to arm yourself because that's what I did. I was trained in firearms. I walked to the hospital when my husband was sick. I carried a concealed weapon and I made the determination if somebody was going to try and take me out, I was going to take them with me."

Even Harry Reid praised guns in 2010 - http://mrctv.org/videos/harry-reid-praises-guns-2010-i-carried-gun-every-place-i-went

In 2010, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) joined NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre for the grand opening of the Clark County Shooting Park and praised guns for their protective and recreational use.

"When I was the chairman of the Nevada gaming commission, I had a lot of bad people after me and I carried a gun every place I went. So I know guns and what self defense is. But for me, guns are more than that ... in fact the most important part of guns ... is the recreational aspects of guns."

Well, we have a lot of bad people after us in our cities and homes - shouldn't we deserve the same need for self-defense and the desire to pursue recreational use of guns?


So as President Obama expressed, continue to write/email/call your lawmakers and let them know how you feel and what you want.

Interesting details in Gallup's new poll - http://news.yahoo.com/polls-show-movement-toward-stricter-gun-control-major-214208055.html

At the same time, however, most respondents (51-44 percent) say they’re against any law making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess "semi-automatic guns known as assault rifles.” And a very large majority (74-24 percent) opposes greater restrictions on the possession of handguns.

The bottom line in Gallup’s new polling?

“Americans favor new legislation to limit gun sales, presumably to help prevent the kind of gun violence that became all too familiar in 2012,” writes the polling organization’s Lydia Saad in an analysis. “This is seen in increased support for making the laws covering the sale of firearms more strict, and for passing new gun laws.”

There’s a significant caveat, however, Ms. Saad continues: “Views toward banning semi-automatic guns or assault rifles are unchanged, and – possibly reflecting Americans' desire to defend themselves given the rash of high-profile gun violence – a record-high 74 percent oppose preventing anyone but the police or other authorized officials from owning a handgun.”

 

[Checkman]

Well I've signed all the petitions, wrote my reps (they're all very solidly pro 2nd Amendment), sent a donation to the NRA (member since 1998 & Lifetime member since 2010) and posted the info about Feinstein and her AWB proposal on a couple other sites to ensure folks know what's going on. Now it's a waiting game and that's always the toughest part. But it's unavoidable. Cross your fingers if you've done everything else that you can. No I haven't run out and purchased an AR at those stupidly overinflated prices.