Dianne Feinstein, member of the United States Senate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Thursday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a proposal to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The bill faces an uphill battle to congressional passage. No Republican lawmakers were in the room when she proposed her bill. The bill would go further than the 1994 assault weapon ban (which expired in 2004) in that it would prohibit the sale, import and manufacture of more than 150 weapons—including the Bushmaster rifle used in the Newtown school shooting. It would also ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
It is important to note for those worrying their guns will be taken away that those who legally own assault weapons would be allowed to keep them. Buyers of currently owned assault weapons would be subject to criminal background checks. Sen. Feinstein said: “No weapon is taken from anyone. The purpose is to dry up the supply of these weapons over time.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that even though “Feinstein dropped the idea of requiring owners of assault weapons to register their firearms, her proposal quickly drew criticism from the National Rifle Association.”
The NRA said in a statement:
“Sen. Feinstein has been trying to ban guns from law-abiding citizens for decades. It’s disappointing but not surprising that she is once again focused on curtailing the Constitution instead of prosecuting criminals or fixing our broken mental health system. The American people know gun bans do not work and we are confident Congress will reject Sen. Feinstein’s wrongheaded approach.”
I’m not sure where I begin with the ridiculousness of this statement. I’m starting to think some people are illiterate, deaf or delusional. The Senator emphatically said no one’s guns would be taken away from them. She is by no means advocating a ban on all guns. There is no practical or good reason why assault weapons should be sold or even manufactured. As I have posted, assault weapons should be banned.
You don’t need them to hunt. You don’t need them to protect yourself. You can do those things with shotguns and handguns. The fact that weapons used in the Iraq War are legally sold in this country is dumbfounding.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Sen. Feinstein will not only encounter resistance from the GOP, but from her own part as well. That is the reason the ban expired in 2004. Many Democrat leaders have A or B ratings from the NRA. Some think that the bill if first introduced in the Democratically led Senate wouldn’t pass.
If you think that assault weapons should NOT be banned, please give a rational explanation as to why. Because I don’t understand how this infringes your Constitutional right.
Email: realtalkdebate2012@gmail.com
Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate