First 100 days: Assault weapons ban

[JTFrog]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30389664/

First 100 days: Assault weapons ban
Obama’s goal of permanently renewing the ban appears to be a longshot

By Pete Williams
Justice correspondent
NBC News
updated 11:14 a.m. PT, Fri., April 24, 2009


WASHINGTON - Campaigning before a church congregation on Chicago’s South Side one Sunday in July 2007, Barack Obama said an epidemic of big city violence was “sickening the soul of this nation.”

Among the potential cures, he said, was permanently reinstating a ban on assault weapons.

One-hundred days into his presidency, President Obama says it remains a goal. But it is one the White House has been forced to abandon.

Voices of agreement
President Obama and Vice-President Biden, “support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent,” the White House website declares. Shortly after taking office, members of the Obama cabinet added their voices of agreement.

...

[TheWraith]

1. Good.

It's a useless, feel-good law which has been proven to do nothing to reduce crime, but does help Republicans win elections.

[tridim]

5. The weapons it bans are useless to law abiding gun owners.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Doesn't matter.

There's still the Constitution.

[TheWraith]

10. No, they're not.

In fact, an "assault weapon" is the fastest selling centerfire rifle in America.

And the AWB didn't "ban" anything. It just specified a few features like bayonet lugs and flash suppressors that couldn't be fitted to a rifle.

[jody]

11. What a crock of BS, a renewed AWB would ban some of the most popular firearms in the U.S. n/t

[benEzra]

21. The most common target rifles in America are useless to target shooters?

Who knew?

You are quite wrong, of course. My so-called "assault weapon" is my most useful rifle. Recreational plinking, competitive shooting (IPSC/USPSA), defensive standby, AND hunting should I ever take up that endeavour.

[jody]

2. Obama has come face to face with reality, if he presses to renew AWB he will cause we Dems to lose

seats in Congress in 2010 and seriously hurt his chances for reelection in 2012.

If he is real smart, he will go before the voters and promise, "I will veto any bill that renews the Assault Weapons Ban".

[AtomicKitten]

3. I support the AWB and hope he renews it. n/t

[Occam Bandage]

4. Good. Cosmetic bans are stupid.

It would be like banning all red cars, because red cars look dangerously fast, and nobody needs a red car anyway.

[Xipe Totec]

6. I think we should continue to scare freepers into buying weapons

on credit.

Not only does it keep the economy going, but they can help reduce the bill collector population.

And help bankrupt the credit card companies.

Black cloud, silver lining, etc...

[bbinacan]

8. Are any

"assault weapons" legally sold in the US?

[jody]

9. Since "assault weapons" are no longer covered by fed law, all such semiautomatic firearms with the

cosmetic features are legally sold.

[TheWraith]

12. Depends what you mean by "assault weapons."

The common definition is a semi-automatic rifle that looks like a similar military model. Examples would be the AR-15 and various AK-47 knockoffs. There are plenty of them for sale.

If you're thinking of automatic weapons--which are deliberately confused with "assault weapons" by groups that support banning them--you can still buy one, but you'll pay $20,000 for it in addition to background check fees, waiting periods, transfer taxes, etcetera. They're collector's items, and thus both rare and fabulously expensive.

[jeff30997]

14. Can't AR-15 be converted to automatic ?

I'm just curious.

[bbinacan]

15. My understanding is that

the gun would have to be rebuilt from scratch.

[TheWraith]

20. You are pretty much correct. nt

[jody]

17. No! n/t

[TheWraith]

19. No, they cannot.

They're specifically designed to not be convertible. Legally any gun which can be easily converted to fully automatic is considered to be so already, and thus governed under the National Firearms Act of 1934.

An experienced machinist could theoretically convert a rifle to full-auto, but it would be easier to build one from scratch. Siezures of converted semi-autos by law enforcement are virtually unheard of.

[jeff30997]

29. I found this site:

http://www.quarterbore.com/nfa/dias.html

I'm not a weapons expert so can you tell me if

this is BS ?

[X_Digger]

31. For a pre-86 colt AR-15 + M-16 parts, not BS, but not likely

As is mentioned upthread, guns were specifically changed so as to not be able to be converted in 86..

For a pre-86 AR-15, you'd have to get someone to sell you m-16 parts without a title II / class 3 license.

For a post-86 AR-15, you'd have to mill out the receiver to accept the DIAS to extremely tight tolerances and find someone willing to sell you m-16 parts without a title II / class 3 license. Any machinist who could make these kind of modifications could make a receiver from scratch much easier (bren / sten open bolt comes to mind.)

[jeff30997]

33. Thanks for the infos X_Digger.

You answered a lot of questions I was asking myself and helped debunking some myths that I've heard about.:thumbsup:

[TheWraith]

34. Not BS, but it's no different than any registered automatic weapon.

To be legal, any of those have to have been registered prior to the 1986 ban on new NFA registrations. It would then be treated just like a full-auto gun.

[benEzra]

22. Under U.S. Federal law, easily converted guns ARE full auto for the purposes of the law

even if not actually converted. That's why there are no U.S.-legal magazine-fed civilian firearms that fire from an open bolt; they are easily converted to full auto, and hence are restricted as machineguns.

[Ian David]

13. If Obama simply drops this, that should shut the gun nuts the fuck up at last.

The law doesn't work, and all it does is give fuel for the Glenn Becks of the world to fire-up the militia nuts.

[jody]

16. The issue can no longer be handled by "Obama simply drops this". It will continue to dog him until

he says openly "I will veto any bill that renews the assault weapons ban".

Nothing less will get him out of the political trap he created for himself by leaving on his website the statement "Obama and Biden . . . support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent."

[depakid]

25. Nothing shuts up obsessives

nor the cowardly who, like Cheney, live in irrational fear.

Like most highly vocal extremists, give 'em an inch- then they'll want a yard- give 'em a yard, they'll want a mile.

[greguganus]

18. Fastest way to rally the Repubs. Obama better back track on this one.n/t

[X_Digger]

23. A 'cure' for less than 3% of crime? Some 'cure'. n/t

[depakid]

24. It would help to prevent cops from being killed 3 and 4 at a time

not that most of those who advocate the proliferation of these weapons cares one lick about things like that.

[X_Digger]

26. As if..

.. non-'scary looking' rifles aren't just as deadly.

[depakid]

27. Yep- it's easy to kill multiple swat team members with hunting rifles

[X_Digger]

28. Thanks for the quote..

Then why ban scary looking rifles?

[depakid]

30. ....

:sarcasm:

[X_Digger]

32. You did step right into it..

Seriously, though, what about 'assault weapons' makes them especially dangerous to cops that a weapon of the same caliber, same capacity, but without a pistol grip, barrel shroud, bayonet lug, folding / collapsible stock wouldn't?

[TheWraith]

35. Shotguns are a lot more deadly to police.

Because they can find the chinks in body armor. Two out of the three cops in Pittsburgh were killed with a shotgun.

[npk]

36. Nothing says squirrel hunting like an AK 47

Hunting like it ought to be.

Death to Rodents and other fur balls.

:sarcasm: