Whats your fuckin point here, T? What do you take from this LONG article? Did you read it?
On Feb 24, 5:44 pm, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/us/24guns.html?hp > > February 23, 2010 > Fearing Obama Agenda, States Push to Loosen Gun Laws *By IAN > URBINA<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/u/ian_urbi...> > * > > When President > Obama<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_o...>took > office, gun rights advocates sounded the alarm, warning that he > intended to strip them of their arms and ammunition. > > And yet the opposite is happening. Mr. Obama has been largely silent on the > issue while states are engaged in a new and largely successful push for > expanded gun rights, even passing measures that have been rejected in the > past. > > In Virginia, the General Assembly approved a bill last week that allows > people to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants that serve > alcohol, and the House of Delegates voted to repeal a 17-year-old ban on > buying more than one handgun a month. The actions came less than three years > after the shootings at Virginia > Tech<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/v/v...>that > claimed 33 lives and prompted a major national push for increased gun > control. > > Arizona and Wyoming lawmakers are considering nearly a half dozen pro-gun > measures, including one that would allow residents to carry concealed > weapons without a permit. And lawmakers in Montana and Tennessee passed > measures last year — the first of their kind — to exempt their states from > federal regulation of firearms and ammunition that are made, sold and used > in state. Similar bills have been proposed in at least three other states. > > In the meantime, gun control advocates say, Mr. Obama has failed to deliver > on campaign promises to close a loophole that allows unlicensed dealers at > gun shows to sell firearms without background checks; to revive the assault > weapons ban; and to push states to release data about guns used in crimes. > > He also signed bills last year allowing guns to be carried in national parks > and in luggage on > Amtrak<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/amtrak/index.ht...>trains. > > “We expected a very different picture at this stage,” said Paul Helmke, > president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun > Violence<http://www.bradycampaign.org/>, > a gun control group that last month issued a report > card<http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/reports/fedleg/obama-1styear-repo...>failing > the administration in all seven of the group’s major indicators. > > Gun control advocates have had some successes recently, Mr. Helmke said. > Proposed bills to allow students to carry guns on college campuses have been > blocked in the 20 or so states where they have been proposed since the > Virginia Tech shootings. Last year, New Jersey limited gun purchases to one > a month, a law similar to the one Virginia may revoke. > > But recent setbacks to gun control have been many. > > Last month, the Indiana legislature passed bills that block private > employers from forbidding workers to keep firearms in their vehicles on > company property. > > Gun rights supporters also showed their strength last year by blocking > legislation to give District of Columbia residents a full vote in Congress > by attaching an amendment to repeal Washington’s ban on handguns. > > Asked by reporters about the Brady group’s critical report on the Obama > administration, a White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, pointed out that the > latest > F.B.I.<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/f...>statistics > showed that violent crime dropped in the first half of 2009 to > its lowest levels since the 1960s. > > “The president supports and respects the Second Amendment,” Mr. LaBolt said, > “and he believes we can take common-sense steps to keep our streets safe and > to stem the flow of illegal guns to criminals.” > > Still, gun rights groups remain skeptical of the administration. > > “The watchword for gun owners is stay ready,” said Wayne > LaPierre<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/wayne_la...>, > chief executive of the National Rifle > Association<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/n...>. > “We have had some successes, but we know that the first chance Obama gets, > he will pounce on us.” > > That Mr. Obama signed legislation allowing guns in national parks and on > Amtrak trains should not be seen as respect for the Second Amendment, Mr. > LaPierre said. The two measures had been attached as amendments to larger > pieces of legislation — a bill cracking down on credit card companies and a > transportation appropriations bill, respectively — that the president wanted > passed, Mr. LaPierre said. > > Regardless of Mr. Obama’s agenda, gun dealers seem to be reaping the > benefits of fears surrounding it. > > Federal background checks for gun purchases rose to 14 million in 2009, up > from 12.7 million in 2008 and 11.2 million in 2007. But from November 2009 > to January 2010, the number of background checks fell 12 percent, compared > with the same months a year earlier. > > In Virginia, the success of new pro-gun laws is partly a result of the > Republican > Party<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/r...>’s > taking the governor’s office after eight years of Democratic control. > > A major setback for state gun control advocates was this week’s House vote > repealing the one-gun-per-month law, which was passed in 1993 under Gov. L. > Douglas Wilder, a Democrat, and has long been upheld as the state’s > signature gun control restriction. > > Supporters of limiting gun purchases to one a month said the law was > important to avoid Virginia’s becoming the East Coast’s top gun-running hub. > Opponents dismissed the concern. > > “We shouldn’t get rid of our Second Amendment rights because some people in > New York City want to abuse theirs,” Robert G. > Marshall<http://delegatebob.com/>, > a Republican delegate from Manassas who supported repeal of the > one-gun-a-month limit, told reporters. > > Gun control advocates hoped to win new restrictions after the Virginia Tech > massacre on April 16, 2007, in which a student, Seung-Hui > Cho<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/cho_seun...>, > shot and killed 32 people before turning a gun on himself. > > After the shooting, Gov. Tim > Kaine<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/tim_kain...>, > a Democrat, pushed for stronger gun control measures. But last year the > legislature rejected a bill requiring background checks for private sales at > gun shows and repealed a law that Mr. Kaine had supported to prohibit anyone > from carrying concealed weapons into a club or restaurant where alcohol is > served. > > In previous years, the guns-in-bars bill cleared both chambers but was > vetoed by Mr. Kaine. But the new governor, Robert F. > McDonnell<http://www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/mcdonnell-bio.cfm>, > has said he supports the measure. > > Virginia is also considering a measure adopted in Montana and Tennessee that > declares that firearms made and retained in-state are beyond the authority > of Congress. The measure is primarily a challenge to Congress’s power to > regulate commerce among the states. > > The Montana law is being challenged in federal court, and the United > States Bureau > of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and > Explosives<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/b/b...>has > sent a letter to Tennessee and Montana gun dealers stating that > federal > law supersedes the state measure. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
