On gun control, look to Biden

[Demsrule86]

This was after Sandy Hook, sadly Biden failed to get the House to even take up this bill...but below is information that shows his long term committment for gun control...he had pushed for it early in the Obama administration. But of course the house was on fire, the economy had to be dealt with.

...'After Biden wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1988, Republicans quickly filibustered, blocking the bill for four years. He steered "the Biden crime bill" through the lengthy filibuster by negotiating with Republicans and making revisions. "Every single line in that bill was written with every single major Republican a part of it," Biden said in a September 12, 1994, interview on the Charlie Rose show.
The Clinton administration and then-Sen. Biden repeatedly refused to make concessions that would have jeopardized the substance of the act, even after debate over the amendment we know as the federal assault weapons ban imperiled the entire bill. Instead of backing down, Biden took on Republican Sens. Phil Gramm and Orrin Hatch and faced opponents attacking the bill as taxpayer-funded "dance lessons and midnight basketball for robbers and rapists."...

...When the bill foundered in the House, Biden persevered. It reached President Clinton's desk thanks to an unexpected, eleventh-hour push from a "Lost Battalion of Republicans" led by Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware. He'd been swayed during a series of meetings with the House Speaker and other House Republicans, at which Biden was the only Senator in attendance.
The resulting legislation banned the manufacture of 19 types of semi-automatic firearms and criminalized the possession of high-capacity magazines. The process taught a critical lesson: When otherwise "pro-gun'" lawmakers have to choose between a crime bill including a gun ban and inaction, it is more than possible for them to vote to protect Americans. Unfortunately, the assault weapons ban expired in 2004...... Since then, numerous lawmakers, including Joe Biden, have tried and failed to get the ban renewed..

...Biden will likely support a new ban on assault weapons and push for improvements. His 2007 Crime Control and Prevention Act would not only have renewed the ban but required background checks for all gun purchases, closing the "gun show loophole.'" Biden has also called on Congress to address the relationship of mental illness to violence in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings...'


https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/19/opinion/buckwalter-poza-biden/index.html

[Hoyt]

1. This is a big check mark in Biden's column.

[Celerity]

2. seeing as you are going back to 1988, and the article mentions closing the gun show loophole.......

Biden voted with the NRA when the Senate, and the nation, were very different. The 1986 bill allowed firearms to be sold by mail and limited inspections of dealers while allowing them to sell at gun shows.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-voted-nra-when-senate-nation-were-very-different-n997311

snip

As Biden prepares to launch his 2020 presidential run on Thursday, guns are an area of his decades-long record in public life in which he has been consistently in line with the values of today's Democratic Party. But still, potential political dangers lurk, even on his signature issue — including a vote in favor of a 1986 bill that the NRA has called "the law that saved gun rights" in America.

The Firearm Owners Protection Act, which passed Congress overwhelmingly, overturned six Supreme Court rulings and numerous regulations, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the most consequential gun laws of the past century and as a key political boost for the burgeoning gun rights movement.

The measure allowed dealers to sell rifles, shotguns and ammunition through the mail, and, eventually, the internet. It limited federal inspections of firearms dealers while allowing them to sell guns at gun shows, which helped them grow in size and popularity. And it made it easier for private collectors to sell guns without obtaining a federal dealers' license, which would play a role in what later became known as the "gun show loophole." (It also banned machine guns, thanks to an amendment slipped in by House Democrats at the last minute.)

snip

While some liberals fought the legislation, Biden and other Democrats — including initially Kennedy, though he later opposed the bill — helped find a compromise that maintained rules on handguns while eliminating all exemptions on interstate sales or transportation of "long guns," including rifles and shotguns.

"I believe the compromises that are now a part of this bill have resulted in a balanced piece of legislation that protects the rights of private gun owners while not infringing on law enforcement's ability to deal with those who misuse guns or violate laws," Biden said at the time. "During my 12 and a half years as a member of this body, I have never believed that additional gun control or federal registration of guns would reduce crime. I am convinced that a criminal who wants a firearm can get one through illegal, nontraceable, unregistered sources, with or without gun control," he continued.

snip

[Demsrule86]

3. I am sure you can pick a record this long apart...but Biden has a good record on gun rights.

...While some liberals fought the legislation, Biden and other Democrats — including initially Kennedy, though he later opposed the bill — helped find a compromise that maintained rules on handguns while eliminating all exemptions on interstate sales or transportation of "long guns," including rifles and shotguns.

"I believe the compromises that are now a part of this bill have resulted in a balanced piece of legislation that protects the rights of private gun owners while not infringing on law enforcement's ability to deal with those who misuse guns or violate laws," Biden said at the time....Meanwhile, Biden had plenty of company from other well-known Democrats among the "yeas," including Al Gore of Tennessee, George Mitchell of Maine, John Glenn of Ohio and Pat Leahy of Vermont. Harry Reid of Nevada, then a congressman, voted for the bill in the House, where the main fight actually took place...."

"Bill Russo, a spokesperson for Biden, said the former vice president's record fighting the NRA is strong and he continues to fight for gun reform."

"Cherry-picking an out of context quote from 1986 doesn't even begin to address Joe Biden's unparalleled record on gun safety," Russo said. "Let's be clear on the facts: Joe Biden took on the NRA and won — twice. He led the way to pass the Brady Bill in 1993, establishing the background check system that has kept guns out of the hands of millions of dangerous individuals. In 1994, he also authored the bill banning weapons of war — assault weapons and high capacity magazines — for a decade."

And he noted that Biden's effort after Sandy Hook led to more than two dozen executive actions on gun violence.

Please note that the fight was in the house...and look at who voted for the compromise...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-voted-nra-when-senate-nation-were-very-different-n997311

[Celerity]

4. Overall, post mid 1990's, yes, but he helped create

some of the problems himself, by helping, for instance, pass the very legislation just several years before that created that very same gun show loophole and other gun de-regulation that helped undergird the current gun culture/violence issues we are now dealing with now. The same could be said for his 1994 Crime Bill, with all its structural fallout, especially its disparate impact on minorities.

[hack89]

5. The 94 AWB was a colossal failure

It actually helped the NRA and gun manufacturers.

[Demsrule86]

6. The AWB part was a success..kept some bad ass guns out for 20 years.

[hack89]

8. Talk to Adam Lanza about that.

His rifle was perfectly legal under the 94 AWB - just like it was legal under CT’s AWB. AR-15 style rifle production spiked two years into the AWB to meet increased demand.

[aikoaiko]

9. It did not. I legally bought my first AR in 2002

It was legal because it didn’t have a bayonet lug and a flash suppressor. Nothing that impacted the “function of the AR.

Assault Weapons Bans are useless gun control.

[aikoaiko]

10. Furthermore, IMO, the AWB did more to promote AR and AK ownership than the ads from gun companies

The “forbidden fruit” effect was massive and drove a lot of interest. I know. I was one of those people.

[Cha]

7. Thanks Dems.. I will!