Richard Lugar Voices Support For Assault Weapons Ban

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), a veteran GOP lawmaker who has served in the Senate for more than 30 years, voiced support for a ban on assault weapons last Friday.

In an interview with Bloomberg's Al Hunt, the Indiana senator was asked whether the ban, which expired in 2004, should be reinstated. "I believe it should be," Lugar replied. "But I recognize the fact that the politics domestically in our country with regard to this are on a different track altogether."

Lugar continued, "As a matter of fact, it appears that ammunition has been purchased from stores all over the country, subsequent to , by many Americans feeling that somehow Congress might take action that would somehow limit the amount of ammunition or the types of ammunition people can have."

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed by Congress in 1994, but expired ten years later. HuffPost Mark Blumenthal recently wrote that despite a drop in support for gun control in general, public opinion "continued to show plurality support for an assault weapon ban as recently as a year ago."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/richard-lugar-assault-weapons-ban_n_810097.html

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This is the top masthead news item at The Huffington Post, so I assume it will not be swept into the gungeon never to be seen again.

[defendandprotect]

1. Michael Moore was just talking about gun control in America on Maddow ....

everyone supports gun control -- even including gun owners!

But major question is why we continue to think violence is an answer to anything --

from our wars to our guns?

Gun violence serves only the GOPs/NRA and the right wing --

it's the way they rise and will rise!

[groundloop]

2. Richard Lugar is toast

The right wing, and especially the NRA, aren't going to be happy. He'll be primaried by a teabagger for sure.

[IamK]

6. He already had a D or F rating from NRA but he will lose for other reasons...

[Hoyt]

12. Not necessarily. More people are wising up to the gun proliferation problem we have here.

I applaud Lugar's comments and hope some Democrats have the guts to stand up to people who keep buying these things and especially those who think wide-spread toting of weapons in public should be as common as breathing.

[nyy1998]

16. I'm actually considering sending some money to help out his primary campaign

I have no faith in a Democrat winning in Indiana, so better to have Lugar, especially on foreign issues and the occasional social issue, then some tea party nut

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. AWB = loser issue...

Loser issue in every way.

Doesn't affect crime rates.
Loses political capitol (people who support it get the boot)
Is feel good in nature and not based in logic.

[whogasa736]

4. Lots of Guns, Lots Of Bullets, Lots of Nutz

We are in a hell of a mess.

[pottersvilleusa]

5. Ban the huge magazines of ammo!

The only reason the guy in Arizona stopped after 30 shots was 'cause he had to reload another 30 shot magazine and someone grabbed it away.

[Tejas]

7. Ban the Law Enforcement agencies that allowed him to be there that day.

Shoddy enforcement is the only reason he was there to begin with.

[Atypical Liberal]

8. There is no rifle crime problem in this country.

The simple fact is, annually more people are killed by hands and feet than are killed by all rifles, let alone assault rifles.

Rifles just aren't commonly used in crime, primarily because they are not easily concealed.

Couple this with the fact that the last assault weapon ban only banned cosmetic features that the firearm manufactures quickly adjusted to fit the letter of the law, and you can see how another Assault Weapon Ban would be a waste of time.

[Hoyt]

10. Just about anyone who covets these weapons needs to be assessed. IMO

In my opinion, these guns -- however you wish to define them -- are not much different than having a bomb in your garage.

Yet, we allow folks to buy them and in many states people can carry them in public. Personally, I think people who even look at the things in a gun store (or worse at a gun show) should have their names placed in a registry indicating expanded assessment before they can purchase another gun or carry one in public. I'd outright ban further gun purchases and permits if the person caresses the weapon and salivates.

The sooner we get these things out of the manufacturing pipeline, the sooner we will get rid of most of them. Yep, I realize in the short-run habitual gun purchasers and toters will still have those bought before the ban. But, in the long-term, they will be available to a smaller and smaller percentage of the population.

Of course, that's just me. I don't expect our lawmakers to do anything other than hire security for themsleves.

[Atypical Liberal]

17. Firearms are not bombs.

First of all, civilian assault rifles are not bombs. Bombs are explosive devices that cannot be targeted discriminately. Civilian assault rifles are semi-automatic rifles that fire one bullet per pull of the trigger, just like any semi-automatic rifle. The second amendment does not cover explosives, while it most certainly covers rifles appropriate for infantry use.

Can you tell which one of these is an assault rifle?




In fact, both of these rifles are functionally identical. They fire the same bullet, with the same rate of fire, with the same velocity, and the same accuracy. One happens to have a traditional wood stock, while the other has a military stock.

Second of all, if you check the FBI UCR web site, you will see that consistently, year after year, more people are killed with hands and feet than with all rifles combined, let alone assault rifles. This in spite of the fact that the AR-15 and its variants is the most popular center-fire target rifle in America.

Your concept that firearms are some kind of fetish item confuses me. I enjoy the skill and challenge of target shooting. I enjoy holding family heirlooms that allow me a connection to my ancestors who also enjoyed target shooting, and it gives me a way to relate to people long dead, to experience exactly what they experienced. I enjoy the solemn responsibility of exercising a right important enough to rate enumeration in our Bill of Rights. I enjoy the craftsmanship and engineering built into the hardware. If this is coveting, so be it, but I don't think it's any more or less healthy than someone who collects any other kind of thing.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[willing dwarf]

9. Maybe he's aware of the issue

since his name is that of a German hand gun?

[bluedigger]

11. So he's not running for reelection again? n/t

[IamK]

13. he is running again but will be challenged

in the primary with a more conservative republican. He got 87% of the vote last election....

[mindwalker_i]

14. What a fuckin' communist

Here in America everybody needs as many guns as possible.

[slackmaster]

18. The reason for most of the public support for a renewal is simple ignorance

A lot of people, including many who own guns, mistakenly believe that the "AW" ban was the only thing preventing people from buying fully automatic rifles and machine guns at Wal-Mart.