NRA VP Wayne LaPierre vs. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (re: gun control)

[derby378]

For those of you who missed Face the Nation earlier this morning, a transcript:

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003098395

[spin]

1. I thought this segment was very interesting...

LAPIERRE: But you know what happened in Philadelphia, Governor? When the cameras went away, you went away. But I’ll tell you what we ought to do this morning. Let’s agree on this. Every American city -- let’s put Project Exile. Every time a violent felon, drug dealer, gang member touches a gun, let’s prosecute.

RENDELL: I agree with that.

LAPIERRE: And let’s go to President Obama and say, look, you’ve got 100 U.S. attorneys. Let’s have them do 10 additional prosecutions a month, each one of them. No, better than that -- let’s do 20.

RENDELL: Harry, let’s make a deal right here. I agree with Wayne. I agree with Wayne.

(LAUGHTER)

We’ll do that. And Philadelphia used it and used it very successfully.



Some info on Project Exile:


Law Enforcement Services Section
Virginia Exile


Exile Virginia Virginia Exile is the Commonwealth's tough program which carries bail restrictions and imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in a Virginia prison for those who:

* have a prior conviction for a violent felony and are convicted of possessing a firearm;
* are convicted of possessing a firearm on school property with the intent to use it, or displaying it in a threatening manner;
* are convicted of possessing a firearm and Schedule I or II drugs such as cocaine or heroin, or convicted of possessing more than a pound of marijuana with the intent to sell.

Virginia Exile is designed to build upon the success of Project Exile, a federal program started in Richmond in 1997. By prosecuting illegal gun offenses in federal court, Project Exile has helped to reduce gun violence in Richmond, Virginia by 40 percent, according to federal and city officials.
http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/exile/

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

7. Very interesting.

[old mark]

2. I find myself agreeing with Wayne LaPierre about 80% of the time, and Ed Rendell about none

of the time in this exchange.
The rifles in question - evidently a Kalashnikov (AK) type - sold in the US are NOT assault rifles (Assault Weapon is a made up term), because an "assault Rifle" is a term thet has a meaning. It is a rifle designed by Germany toward mid WWII that uses a smaller, lighter, less powerful cartridge than the bolt action rifles it was to replace. It loads from a removable magazine, and may be fires in full auto mode, like a machine gun - or semi auto mode, 1 shot per trigger pull.
I have owned several of the popular AK types over the last several years, and ALL of them are specially made for the US retail trade to be semi-auto ONLY - they cannot be changed to fire full auto without remanufacturing the entire rifle (removing and replacing the receiver and all internal moving parts).

Ed Rendell knows this. He knows that what he proposes is not legal under the Pennsylvania Constitution, and he is merely seeking publicity for himself. he also knows that most people DO NOT support this ridiculous ban.

Mr. Rendell is a liar. He is a cheap political hack who really wanted to continue his carreer in Washington withe the Democratis Administration instead of being forced to leave office in Harrisburg at the end of his term.
I do not like Mr. LaPierre, but I like Ed Rendell even less.
And Governor: the reason I own these rifles is very simple - I want to.
Beyond that is none of your fucking business.

mark

[spin]

9. The reason many gun owners vote Republican is that firearms are easy to understand...

Most of the problems facing our country are very complicated and difficult to comprehend. For example, to get a grip on our current financial crisis, you have to understand terms such as structured finance, tranching, credit enhancement and subordinate bonds.

Obviously most people do not have the time or the inclination to study these subjects well enough to be truly versed enough to determine if our elected officials are doing a good job of solving our problems.

But the subject of firearms is far less complicated and more interesting to most gun owners. It's easy to understand the difference between a semi-auto firearm and a select fire military assault rifle.

When a politician spouts blatant bullshit which leads people to believe that an "assault weapon" is the same as an assault rifle and the only thing it's good for is killing people, gun owners take note. They are well aware that "assault weapons" are very popular for target shooting and for hunting.

So they feel that either the politician lacks any understanding of a fairly simple issue or that he's pandering for votes from people who have little or knowledge of firearms.

In either case, if you can't trust his knowledge or his motives on an uncomplicated subject, how can you trust him to make good decisions on a truly complicated problem?

The Republicans take advantage of the gun issue by knowing the subject and appealing to gun owners as at least informed about the basics.

Fortunately, many Democratic politicians are beginning to break from the tired old anti-gun rhetoric that hurt the party so severely in the past. Perhaps there is hope that we as a party can come up with better policies than merely banning weapons and rather then push "feel good" laws can work on truly effective legislation that reduces gun violence.

[quiller4]

15. Me too and that felt very strange. Rendell is good on jobs issues

but he displayed woeful ignorance in this debate.

[Lint Head]

3. LaPierre is an insane bigot. He says that an assault weapon is no

different than a .22 caliber bolt action, single load, rifle.
This idiot should be held responsible for every crime committed with a gun since he became head of the NRA.
I was a member of the NRA until it became a political lobbying organization. It use to teach and promote gun safety.
LaPierre promotes death and killing. His bullshit about American guns not being responsible for the fire power of the drug gangs
is insanity. To legally own a gun in Mexico you have to have a license from the Mexican Military Defense Department.
US guns are very easy to get in Mexico because they are all illegal firearms

:dem:

[derby378]

4. Not only do you need a license from the Mexican military...

...but there's only one legal gun dealership in the whole country that sells to civilians, and it's run by the military in Mexico City.

Also, your choices of caliber and action are severely limited.

[X_Digger]

5. Was that in this piece?

"He says that an assault weapon is no different than a .22 caliber bolt action, single load, rifle."

Or was that somewhere else? (not seeing it in the transcript.)

[Lint Head]

8. This is not in this transcript. Everything a bigot says is not in a single

transcript.
:dem:

[spin]

13. I would love to see the quote, but somehow I doubt if you can find it...

any knowledgeable gun owner would immediately know it to be false. Since NRA members are very familiar with terminology and the difference between a bolt action rifle and a semi-auto firearm, that statement would be considered ridiculous.

Just as ridiculous as Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's comment in 2004:

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said, at a bill signing ceremony on July 1 with legislators, sportsmen’s groups and gun safety advocates. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”
http://www.iberkshires.com/story.php?story_id=14812

[X_Digger]

14. Agreed.

I'll believe that whopper when I see a source.

[X_Digger]

6. Rendell makes it sound..

.. as though the same guns, with slightly altered cosmetics weren't available 94-'04.

The assault weapons that are used that are sold in sporting goods stores now because the ban has been lifted, they put out a tremendously high amount of fire.

So a collapsible stock, a flash hider, a bayonet mount, a pistol grip- those increase the rate of fire? C'mon Ed, you can't be serious. Same gun, same ammunition, one with cosmetic differences than the other. One pull of the trigger, one round.

[Paladin]

10. Gee, A Bunch OF DU Gun Nuts Trashing A Prominent Democrat.

How completely and utterly unsurprising.......

[Edweird]

11. Gee, a gun grabber ignoring the facts and going straight for the personal attack.

How completely and utterly unsurprising.....

[X_Digger]

12. Would you have said the same about calls to impeach..

Byrd and Thurmond in '48?

Them and the rest of the dixiecrats were wrong about segregation, Rendell is wrong on a new AWB.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

16. We just trash the stupid prominent Democrats.