Americans And Gun Control
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-12-18/americans-and-gun-control
The horror and outrage in the aftermath of last week's mass shootings in Connecticut are galvanizing new efforts to ban assault weapons. Diane and her guests discuss Americans and gun control.
Guests
James Fallows
national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine.
Laura Meckler
White House correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
Adam Winkler
law professor at the UCLA and author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America."
Congressman John Yarmuth
U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District.
Comments
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I`m hearing from some,we need guns to overthrow the government. This really confounds me,because these same folks voted in the T-Party extremists. This group is dedicated to NOT having a working government. Dozens of anti-American extremists groups vow to "PRIMARY" any politician(s) who dares to work to make our government function.
So what happens when these folks succeed? No government at all. ANARCHY, with nobody willing to work with anybody else?To me this policy is just plain NeoNutzi.
We`ve spent trillions to protect America against WMD`s around the world. Why not protect 6 & 7 year olds against WMD`s ? It was reported one of these children was shot 11 times. Where does this kind of hatred come from? Hate radio and the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
Typical modern firearm technical data.
A proper discussion of any issue requires at least some level of intellectual competence on the subject matter. In this regard it is terribly lacking on almost any subject, particularly firearms.
#1 Semi automatic- firearms that shoot one bullet for one pull of the trigger, they reload a round into the chamber readying the firearm for the next shot automatically. Semi automatics include handguns, rifles and shotguns.
#2 Automatic firearm or "machine gun"- firearms that fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. These are NOT for sale legally to the general public in any gun store in the country. These are Military grade firearms.
3# Assault rifle- a political name given a to classification of a semi automatic rifle that resemble in appearance only, military grade firearms. They use an intermediate sized bullet, not as big as a full size rifle bullet or as small as a handgun bullet, it is in the middle in power and size.
#4 High powered assault rifle- purely a media creation, it does not exist!
#5 Bolt action rifle- usually a full sized rifle caliber firearm that is cable of one shot per a manual (bolt action) reloading for every shot fired. Calibers for this firearm can range from very small .22 caliber all the way up to .50 caliber.
#6 Revolver- a hand gun that has a revolving cylinder that holds the bullets, usually 6. It also can fire one round per one pull of the trigger like semi automatics.
#7 Magazine- a compartment on a firearm that holds the ammunition, many firearms have built in magazines and they are not removable. This type of magazine is found on bolt action rifles and semi automatic rifles and shot guns.
#8 Detachable magazine- same principle as above except it is removable for reloading. This type of magazine is used on Semi automatic handguns, rifles and shotguns.
I have three questions.....
1. As a private pilot I was required to get a medical every two years to make sure I was physically and mentally fit to fly an airplane.
Why should a gun owner have to do any less?
2. As a car owner I am required to register and license my car.
Why should a gun owner have to do any less?
3. As a duck hunter here in Maine I am required by law to have a gun in the marsh that can hold no more than three shells at a time. This is to give the ducks a fair chance.
Ar-15's and other semi automatic guns are allowed to have magazines holding up to 30 rounds. Why are ducks given more of a chance than our children?
The rifle in the above picture is a Yugoslavian SKS semi auto with a built in magazine. What makes it an "assault rifle" in the view of the gun banners is the bayonet. If it did not have a bayonet or an attachment for it, it would just be a run of the mill semi auto rifle. This pretty much describes the sham of an assault weapon ban.
Make no mistake, what is wanted is a semi auto ban. When the "assault weapon" ban fails, and it will because there will be no measurable results from it, the next step is all semi autos, which by far are the gun of choice for most wanting self defense, the semi automatic handgun. Then when the next crazy uses a revolver and Molotov cocktails etc etc....
On May 18, 1927, 45 people, mostly children, were killed and 58 were injured when disgruntled and demented school board member Andrew Kehoe dynamited the new school building in Bath, Michigan out of revenge over his foreclosed farm due in part to the taxes required to pay for the new school.
"The two witnesses said Perry was displaying his recently purchased .25-caliber handgun when "he set the safety, pointed the gun at his face, pulled the trigger and the safety didn't work," Roechner said. Perry was shot in the right side of his face near his nose".....Chicago Tribune
Of course you feel for his family... But these are the same brainiac folks everyone is debating.... Armed with a gun and stupidity,it`s a lose,lose situation. These are the people armed to protect us,or kill us depending on their mood.
PROTECT THE CHILDREN OR PROTECT THE NRA GUN NUTS.
THAT IS THE CHOICE... THE ONLY CHOICE..
I need an assault weapon in case I'm out hunting and a pack of wolves or bears charge at me.
A lamentable characteristic of gun ownership is the risk of tragedy.
Diane, The accounts from Sandy Hook describe an episode of real Terror. If we accept this basic premise that it was an episode of Terror -- and if we also accept that our current gun laws were a major contributing factor to this episode of Terror -- don't we need to think about and approach this and other mass shootings in the same way that we approached September 11th, and thus ask ourselves real questions about who and what was behind this? Two days ago I wrote on my Facebook page that I thought that the NRA was a Terrorist Organization for the role they have played in shaping our gun laws, and thus the indirect role they played in the Terror that unfolded in Connecticut. I have since moderated my tone since the NRA does not fit the formal definition of a Terrorist Organization. I am struggling, however, to describe exactly what type of organization the NRA is because the NRA and organizations like al-Qaida support the use of assault weapons and would appear to exist in a similarly dark corner of our world where innocents are pawns in abstract struggles to advance extremist and bankrupt ideologies. I would very much like it if you and your guests could comment. Thank You.
Yesterday a caller brought up the point of addressing mental illness in our nation. Diane, you totally over-shadowed the caller's comments by bringing the topic back to the issue of whether or not President Obama was going to support legislation on stricter gun laws.
I found this offensive. Although I am really undecided on the issue of stricter gun laws one thing I am not undecided about is that this country is still not dealing with mental illness and disabilities in a way that is beneficial for all involved. Mental illness and disabilities are still seen as some sort of 'taboo' and we have to really pin point this issue if we want to have a reasonable and concise conversation about how to avoid further atrocities like the one in Connecticut.
Next time someone brings up this topic, I urge you and challenge you to stop and think about what you are hearing before you jump back to what your original discussion. Maybe it didn't fit into your 'topic of the day' but ignoring the issue of mental illness in these cases is not going to help solve anything. In fact, I would say overlooking the issue would in fact keep the threat level of this occurring again very high.
This is a total overreach, it will never pass in Congress.
To summarize what this bill really is, it is a semi auto ban, hand guns, rifles and shotguns, not just an assault rifle ban. It is the forced forfeiture of private property through mandated destruction provisions in the no transfer language. It is a forced gun registration program through the "grandfathering" language.
Feinstein to Introduce Updated Assault Weapons Bill in New Congress
summary of key provisions in the updated bill:
Stops the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of more than 100 specifically-named firearms as well as certain semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds.
Stops the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment;
exempting more than 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting and sporting purposes; and
exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons
Congressman John Yarmuth says he`s not afraid of the NRA.He should be. He should be as afraid as the rest of America are from the wrath of Corporations,and A.L.E.C.,the front group funded by Corporations that is ending American citizens freedoms and liberties.
The NRA is just a front group for the gun makers. Individual NRA gun members have been loudly against easy access of assault weapons for TERRORISTS,CRIMINALS,AND THE INSANE. It was the NRA opposed to cutting off the guns to the Mexican drug cartels.That was the big deal of "Fast and Furious",and protecting the gun sales to these terrorists.
Stories of tragedies abound. And it seems a LOBBYIST was the cause. Everything from the Gulf Oil Spill,to Mine Tragedies,or even Fanny & Freddie. You name the tragedy,a LOBBYIST is responsible. The NRA LOBBYIST is responsible for the murder of those children and pulled the trigger.
The chance of winning the lottery is one in billions, and yet people think it could happen to them! Why can't people use the same logic when interpreting the statistics of gun violence or any statistics that suggest we shouldn't ban something because the chance of getting affected is so small. How would you interpret that statistics when it was your kids in those statistics? To me, one kid killed is way to many!
Several politicians are calling for bans on assault weapons. And in news briefs yesterday and today, WAMU is reporting this without noting that none of the weapons used in Conn. were categorized as assault weapons. This is confusing to the public.
The public would be better informed by knowing that banning assault weapons would not have prevented this attack.
On a separate note: Trying to keep guns out of hands of mentally disturbed individuals seems an impossible task.
Several politicians are calling for bans on assault weapons. And in news briefs yesterday and today, WAMU is reporting this without noting that none of the weapons used in Conn. were categorized as assault weapons. This is confusing to the public.
The public would be better informed by knowing that banning assault weapons would not have prevented this attack.
On a separate note: Trying to keep guns out of hands of mentally disturbed individuals seems an impossible task.
Thank you for stating these facts. I often find myself correcting and educating people who are misguided and ill-informed to these relevant considerations. To have a serious and effective discussion about gun restrictions, knowing what is being talked about is key.
We should ban assault weapons at a bare minimum. Banning all guns would be ideal.
We live in a society today that is different from when the constitution was written. What once took almost a full minute to take one shot - an errant shot at best - can no now be done making more than 1 shot per second. And the point of the second amendment was to rail against the king of England, to ensure we are not invaded and governed by a dictatorship several thousand miles away.
No one I know needs an assault weapon to go hunt deer. No ones needs an assault weapon to protect their house.
The argument that knives and cars, etc kill people is a bad one. A car could not have inflicted the damage it did in such a short time in a school. I'm pretty sure the car couldn't make it into a classroom. Someone with a knife may be able to inflict violence, but he could be subdued before the slaughter of more than 25 people.
Most gun advocates are also hard core republicans. Those same people will fight tooth and nail against any health care mandate (mental health treatment), will fight against any potential tax increase, and now some are suggesting teachers and principals should be armed. These people are crazy and are a cancer on our society.
Anyone who opposes some sort of gun control has the blood of innocent children on their hands. And I'll gladly pull your gun from your cold dead hands. Better yours than trying to clean up yet another massacre in this country.
I see the guest list includes two reporters, a professor and a Congressman,
Where is the spokesperson from the NRA?
Hiding in their hole and strategizing, determining where their money best spent, until the heat dies down and it's safe for them to show their faces again?
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I want any politician who proposes allowing guns on campus (like the idiot Dennis Baxley in the Florida Legislature) to first lift the ban on guns in his/her offices (state or US Capitol, etc.).
I doubt that anything will come from this controversy. We are very good at talking about it and then doing nothing about it.
We need confiscatory gun control much stronger than the expired assault weapons ban. Two reasons: 1. Mass shootings 2. Right wing threats to overthrow our federal government
The recent killing of two people in a shopping mall was thwarted after a man carrying a concealed weapon , pointed his weapon at the shooter, who, when confronted, shot himself in the head.
Funny how the main stream media fails to report the real news when it goes against what their fascist owners dictate.....
Can your guest discuss how the majority of Americans will get upset about this massacre for awhile but then the focus on this tragedy will more than likely weaken. Why do your guest think it is so difficult to even get Americans to call into their Reps etc to focus on more restrictive gun legislation? Explain that phenomena. Seems so fickle
I am extremely disheartened that almost 100% of the conversation has gone immediately to gun control. This obviously has to be part of the conversation, but as far as I can tell there is almost NO conversation about mental health reform. There are mothers and families across America with dangerous, misdiagnosed, and psychotic children who have almost no options short of waiting for their child to develop a "paper trail" of arrests. Please, Diane, help balance the conversation and shed some light on this immense problem!
Mark H.- The NRA spokesman is likely at a sales meeting.
Such a demented presence would be unproductive.
I went to a local big box store last night. I wanted to see what the 223 ammunition looked like. What I found was a box of 40 bullets. They were "jacketed" and "hollow point". This seems to be an extreme bullet. the box cost ~$30. Pretty cheap to buy something that would kill anything with 1 bullet.
Don't forget about the 3 students killed at Chardon High School last year.
I happen to own some guns via an inheritance and had an account at a gun forum. Yesterday others on that forum went beserk. These gun owners are so paranoid and fearful they hide behind an outdated amendment to the Constitution. After seeing their posts, i am sad about the future of our country and society.
In addition television shows that feature gun violence ought to be accountable. As well as the reality gunsmithing shows on cable
Even Joe Scarbourough has had an epiphany and joined many of us who have been pushing for more serious gun restrictions. So so sad that it has taken the slaughter of tiny innocent children to get these gun advocates to move towards a far more RATIONAL MIDDLE GROUND.
You do know that the first gun control in this country was promoted by the KKK..
That our 2nd amendment was created so that the average citizen could protect themselves from their own government tyrannical tendencies?
One of Hitler's first actions was to ban guns?
Chicago & New York's violence has skyrocketed After they made the decision to ban guns?
I've noticed a few things about the people calling for gun control.
For starters, they keep calling to re-install the Clinton bans. They did very little.
I also noticed that they know VERY LITTLE about what they want to ban. That's just ridiculous. Assault weapons are already illegal. They are calling for a ban on what looks like an assault weapon, but functionally is just like any old WWII rifle.
Why don't people look for real solutions? Because it is much, much deeper than that. The shootings are a symptom of a sick society, not a cause. I can't fathom why this is so hard to understand.