| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Melanie Rocky Ford" |
| Date: |
19 Apr 2007 08:07:31 PM |
| Object: |
Gun lobby prepares for battle over rights |
Gun lobby prepares for battle over rights
By Andrew Ward
Published: April 17 2007 18:40 | Last updated: April 17 2007 18:40
Last Saturday, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice-president of the
National Rifle Association, urged delegates at the group's annual
convention in St Louis, Missouri, to prepare for "the storm that lies
ahead".
He was referring to the threat posed to the gun lobby by a Democratic-
controlled Congress and the risk that the White House could also fall
into enemy hands next year.
Mr LaPierre cannot have imagined that the storm he predicted would
arrive two days later in the most tragic circumstances.
Monday's fatal shooting of 32 students on a Virginia college campus
has thrust the issue of gun control back towards the top of the
political agenda and put the country's powerful gun lobby on the
defensive.
Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans would
support stricter controls – a Gallup poll last year found 56 per cent
in favour – and the proportion is likely to increase following this
week's tragedy.
But, for many of the estimated 80m Americans in possession of a
firearm, gun ownership remains a cherished constitutional right.
According to accounts of his speech at the NRA convention, Mr
LaPierre implored gun-owners to resist those seeking to limit
the "right to bear arms". "Today, there is not one firearm owner
whose freedom is secure," he warned.
The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbying organisations in the US,
with more than 4m members and a $180m annual budget. Its role in
helping secure Republican control of the White House and Congress for
much of the past decade has arguably been matched only by the
Christian conservative movement.
Before the 2000 presidential election, the NRA boasted that it was so
close to George W. Bush that it would "work out of [his] office".
The group's power is amplified by its disproportionate influence over
several rural swing states, such as West Virginia and Tennessee,
which were crucial to Mr Bush's narrow victory in 2000. Addressing an
NRA convention after that election, Mr LaPierre told members: "You
are why Al Gore isn't in the White House".
NRA support for the Republicans has been rewarded with a series of
measures strengthening the rights of gun-owners and gun manufacturers.
Among the first concessions was a White House order for the FBI to
destroy records of background checks on gun-owners within 24 hours,
amid NRA fears that the information could be used to create a
national gun registry.
The Bush administration has also sought to weaken some UN initiatives
against global gun smuggling, while Congress passed a law protecting
gun manufacturers from liability for gun-related violence and allowed
a ban on semi-automatic assault rifles to expire.
Arguably the biggest victory for the gun lobby has been the
administration's endorsement of the widest possible interpretation of
the second amendment of the US constitution, on "the right of the
people to keep and bear arms".
For decades, federal courts ruled that the amendment allowed for
restrictions on gun ownership through its reference to the necessity
for states to keep "a well-regulated militia".
But John Ashcroft, Mr Bush's first attorney-general, backed the NRA's
view that the right to gun ownership rests with the individual. This
broader interpretation was accepted by a federal appeals court for
the first time in March, when Washington DC's 30-year ban on keeping
handguns in the home was declared unconstitutional.
Like most conservative interest groups, however, the gun lobby found
itself out of step with the national mood when the Democrats took
control of Congress last November. A number of prominent NRA-backed
Republican senators were defeated, including George Allen of
Virginia, Conrad Burns of Montana and James Talent of Missouri.
But it is far from certain that the Democrats will seriously
challenge the gun lobby even after this week's tragedy. Scarred by
the role that gun politics played in the defeats of Al Gore and John
Kerry in the past two presidential elections, analysts say many
Democrats would be reluctant to support draconian laws that risk
alienating gun-owners.
John Conyers, chairman of the House judiciary committee, pledged
before November's election that he would not "support or forward to
the House any legislation to ban handguns".
Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has
argued that gun control policy should be set at state level, allowing
candidates in rural states to adopt pro-gun positions while those in
urban areas push for restrictions. Mr Dean's strategy was rewarded by
the election of numerous gun-friendly Democrats in November, further
weakening the party's traditonal support for gun control.
Despite Mr LaPierre's warnings about the Democrats, the NRA has been
quietly working to build bridges with the party. The group backed 58
gun-friendly Democrats in November and the percentage of its
political donations going to Democrats has more than doubled from 6
per cent in 2002 to about 13 per cent last year.
With the Democratic threat tamed, the most pressing concern for many
gun rights activists is the race for the Republican presidential
nomination in 2008. John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, the
three leading candidates, have all supported varying degrees of gun
control, making the NRA nervous that its gains during the Bush years
could be squandered by a Republican successor.
--
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| User: "Joseph" |
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| Title: Re: Gun lobby prepares for battle over rights |
20 Apr 2007 10:08:25 AM |
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"Melanie Rocky Ford" <spoofeddatnospam@Rocky-Ford.not> wrote in message
news:Xns9917C2A14DB42spoofedatnospamRocki@216.196.97.142...
Gun lobby prepares for battle over rights
By Andrew Ward
Published: April 17 2007 18:40 | Last updated: April 17 2007 18:40
Arguably the biggest victory for the gun lobby has been the
administration's endorsement of the widest possible interpretation of
the second amendment of the US constitution, on "the right of the
people to keep and bear arms".
For decades, federal courts ruled that the amendment allowed for
restrictions on gun ownership through its reference to the necessity
for states to keep "a well-regulated militia".
For decades, federal courts ruled that the amendment was the right of the
people to keep and bear arms, not the States, because Congress was the only
one allowed to raise Taxes for Armed forces in a time of War, and even the
Federal Government was not allowed to keep a standing Armed Force in a time
of peace. The States are prohibited by the Constitution from raising Taxes
to keep a standing Armed force in the time of peace. The reason for this was
to keep the Tax Drain from raising the cost of living too high, and
oppressing the people with Taxes, do you remember the Boston Tea Party?
Well, my neighbor still has a cannon in his front yard that his ancestors
owned and used in the Civil War. My Great Great Grandfather also used his
own weapons to fight on the side of the North in the Civil War.
The US was tricked into violating it's Constitution by brainwashing from the
Communists after WW1 so that they could try to destroy our Economy, which
was what the Cold War was all about. Now that Taxes are raising our Cost of
living so high, and Immigration is lowering our labor Wages, many are in
danger of Bankruptcy and repossession of their Homes, Businesses, and Cars.
And the Legal Immigrants are taking over our Governments on all levels, and
doing away with our Rights as they take over. We lost the Cold War with the
Communist, and they did what they said, they took control of both parties
Immigrating to and using the State of Israel to do it, and took us over
without firing a shot!
In service of God and Country
Joseph
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