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April 7th, 2009
08:00 AM ET
Gun control dead?
Despite a rash of shooting rampages, Congress is unlikely to pass new gun control laws. CNN's Jim Acosta reports.
You'd think with a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, gun control bills would be on their way to the White House for the president's signature.
But times have changed.
And so have Democrats on gun rights. As one southern Democrat recently said, the way the votes are shaping up these days, gun control is "dead on arrival" on Capitol Hill.
What do you think? Why is gun control receiving little attention from lawmakers despite mass shootings across the country?
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Can ANYONE name ANY gun law that criminals obey ??
ANY?????????????????
Australia.. VIOLENT crime UP 42 % since the Gov took away peoples guns..
Great Britian..... Violent CRIME UP 40 % since the gun ban..
Philly same story.... 40 %..
WHEN LAW ABIDING PEOPLE CARRY GUNS, WE HAVE LESS VIOLENT CRIME. pure and simple folks.. someone PLEASE tell Obama to read the newspapers.. Or have someone read them to him..
Wanting to take guns away from law abiding citizens for their SAFETY is just plain ignorant combined with the desire to "exercise control" over people.
Arrest criminals that use guns..period.. its a shame the cant do that on a consistent basis.,
stan
I feel that gun control is a positive step in decreasing gun violence, but gun control itself needs to be revamped. What the US government and States are doing now is heavily or totally restricting the purchase of firearms depending on their capabilities. Yes, that prevents some citizens from purchasing these weapons, but what about criminals? There are still thousands of illegal handguns still circulating in England, and their government outlawed them years ago. Those that really want to find a weapon will find it, no questions.
I feel that what we need to do is in fact lessen the restrictions on firearms purchases, even fully automatic weapons (that is not to say we should take away extensive background checks or a "Cool Off" period). At the same time however, we should implement a mandatory trigger lock/gun safe purchase statute (at least for first-time buyers), and institute a training program at a local/State law enforcement range (at a cost of $50-$150) for firearms purchases. The gun safe/trigger locks will certainly help prevent firearms theft and accidental deaths, while the training program will take the fear out of ownership and educate the owner on how to handle it, care for it and otherwise respect its capabilities.
I think a plan like this could be very beneficial to gun ownership and responsibility, as well as provide a significant boost of funds to local/State law enforcement when they need it the most.
If more Americans would excercise there Constitutional right to carry a concealed weapon, (pistol) legally within the parameters of the law in there state, you would be telling a lot more stories about civilians stopping criminals before the Police even can respond to the call for help instead of a criminal went on shooting spree kills countless of helpless people. Guns don't kill, People do!
@" kerry April 8th, 2009 8:58 am ET
What is it going to take for the NRA to release it’s stranglehold on this country. Even the deaths of the little Ahmish girls couldn’t do. Are you telling me that someone’s right to go to a shooting range with an AK47 to mindlessly shoot “pieces of paper” is worth the lives of those 3 cops just killed???"
Guns don't kill people, Kerry ~~ PEOPLE kill people! It's a Constitutional Right to bear arms. And I will do so.
What is it going to take for the NRA to release it's stranglehold on this country. Even the deaths of the little Ahmish girls couldn't do. Are you telling me that someone's right to go to a shooting range with an AK47 to mindlessly shoot "pieces of paper" is worth the lives of those 3 cops just killed???
The old saying "guns don't kill people, people kill people" still holds true. When you take away law-abiding citizens' guns and their ability to legally obtain them-there will be a lot more killings, rapes and thefts will be uncontrollable. The main reason that other nations really don't want to attack the US is because the citizens are armed. No other nation in the world has the freedoms that the US does, so they are afraid to attack-and they should be. Criminals do not obey the gun laws.
I thought I heard in your report this morning that AK-47s would not have been available under the assault weapons ban. I have to disagree. I got my AK-47 legally while the ban was in place because it was a pre-ban rifle. In fact, pre-ban AK-47s were easier to get under Pres. Clinton's term because there were few wars going that placed demand on the rifle market place. At this time, these rifles are harder to get because market demand is much higher. Indeed bullets are getting hard to find because of these demands. Check your local Walmart for .22LR bullets and see. By the way, I don't consider my AK-47 an assault weapon; it is a plinking rifle that I take to the gun range to shoot at pieces of paper. No item is a weapon unless one uses it that way. What about those assault swimming pools that kill more children annually than guns? Anyone for banning those?
People who kill people don't care what the law says. Gun control laws only hamper people like me who obey the law and are not allowed to have a handgun eventhough I've never commited a crime, and have no reason to not have one besides my state leaves it up to the county to decide and my current county doesn't give permits. Laws keeping guns out of places only make it easier for criminals to enter with guns and shoot the place up.
In regione caecorum rex est luscus.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Gun control...anyone check the murder rate in D.C. ?