Reply #6: "They want to take away MY guns" is not the same as "they want to ban all guns"... [View All]

[benEzra]

What current Dem congress members want to ban guns in this country?

I was talking to my co worker and I said I didn't support some gun control laws because I thought they were ineffective and were what I call "feel good" laws. She then asked why I support liberals because they want to take away my guns. I told her that that was a NRA talking point and wasn't true.

"They want to take away MY guns" is not the same as saying "they want to ban ALL guns." Two different concepts. Even the UK (gun-owner hell) doesn't ban all guns. That's not the point.

If your friend owns a pistol or a small-caliber nonhunting-style rifle, yes, there are those who want to take them, unfortunately. Not a majority anymore (party leaders have finally learned the hard lessons of 1994-2004, I think), but there are those.

There is currently legislation in congress to ban a quarter or more of the guns in our family's gun safe. H.R.1022 would ban all shotguns holding more than 5 shells, all rifles and pistols holding more than 10 rounds, all self-loading civilian rifles with handgrips that stick out (including some of the most popular target rifles in America), plus Ruger mini-14's, M1 carbines (on the civilian market since the 1940's), M1 Garands, etc. etc. etc. Despite the fact that rifles are almost never used in crimes. There are also those who would like to ban most handguns. FWIW, H.R.1022 has 26 cosponsors, out of 435 members--not a lot, but enough to rate a 2 or 3 on the worry scale.



Ruger mini-14 Ranch Rifle, banned by name by H.R.1022


If you'd like to see where gun owners are coming from, the following DU threads may be informative:

Dems and the Gun Issue - Now What? (written in '04, largely vindicated in '06, IMO)

Alienated Rural Democrat

Look at it another way. The Moral Majority doesn't want to ban all books, either, just the ones they don't like. So no big deal, right? After all, they're not trying to take away all your books, just the 25% or 50% they disapprove of...but that doesn't make book bans any more palatable.