Assault Weapons Bill Dead: despite polls against them

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the ban on military-style assault weapons dead. He said they just didn’t have the numbers to support, 20 short of the 60 needed to end debate and vote.

I checked several different polls of our citizens and found that as high (CNN) as 80% wanted a ban on assault weapons and magazine clips over 10 bullets. Other polls (NBC, CBS etc.) ranged in the high 50’s for a ban on assault weapons to the high 30’s and low 40’s against the ban. Higher numbers (high 80’s) wants background checks for all weapons sold whether from gun stores or gun shows.

Obviously the congressional leaders know these polls and yet are willing not to ban these weapons. What this infers to me is that the lobby efforts of the NRA, whose own membership majority also supports the ban, are more important to the congress than are their constituents; money talks loudly here.

I find the arguments for assault weapons ludicrous. If any hunter needs an assault weapon or any automatic weapon to bring down a deer or whatever, they are not much of a marksman or sportsman.

Then NRA also says we need the assault weapons for self defense against criminals. Now since the NRA has successfully blocked studies on this issue, we don’t have as much to go on as we would like. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics each year between 1987 and 1992 62,200 victims of violent crime use guns to defend themselves and another 20,000 to defend property. But other studies show entirely different numbers.

How do you define self-defense? Remember Trayvon Martin where George Zimmerman shot this unarmed teen in the name of self-defense; his trial is this June.

A 2002 study by the Justice Quarterly journal states that 27% of 297 defensive gun uses surveyed may have been unnecessary or “even exceeded a defensive purpose.”

Another 2004 survey on gun self-defense in California found that most of the reported cases were between hostile armed adolescents; read gangs.

And then proponents for assault weapons love to trot out the 2^nd amendment. Which reads: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Does your town of have well regulated militia? Is your town prepared to fend of invading British?

Hunters get all the shotguns and rifles you need for hunting who cares. And if a few of you want to fire handguns on controlled firing ranges have at it. But leave the defense part to the military and the police, which by in large support gun control, and are equipped and trained to do that.

Meanwhile the unrepresented democracy muddles on.

Want a good scare? Attend a gun show. This one seems tame to the one I attended with beer guzzling fellas hoisting bazookas.