A simple fact: The current Congress (and the one elected in Nov.) will not pass gun control

There are people who put what's right before their ambitions.
Who's afraid of the big bad NRA,NRA,NRA?

everyday.
I know you think this is bull shit but I know this too. There is such a thing as the law of attraction. When enough people want gun control things will move to make it happen. Today's killing of children has made a lot of people want gun restrictions. The momentum is building with each new gun tragedy. And the more guns there are the more gun tragedy there will be.
The return of gun control is inevitable and increased gun ownership is what will make it happen.
Mark my word.

so much as embolden those who already felt that way. It's one of those things that I don't think many people really change their minds regarding.

so predictable.

We have to stand for something... win or lose.

20 dead 1st graders demand that someone make a stand.

you tell us to not talk about or support liberal positions because we'll lose elections.

all the while claiming to support these issues, while using DU to tell us to not support what you say you support.



but it's not funny, it never was.

you tried.

and failed.

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2012&id=D000000082

They have perverted the meaning of the 2nd amendment and make the USA hell on earth.

To be in the NRA.

Unfriend them on Facebook. Don't invite them to dinner. Don't let them into your house.

I personally do not know anyone who is a member of the
NRA or has ever mentioned having a gun..

four million out of approximately 60 million. The NRA can disappear tomorrow and it won't make that much difference.

NRA has influence outsize its numbers. Kill it and a sane debate possible.

My inclination is to keep the dialogue open and work to find common ground. We need to turn down the fear and try not to alienate each other further, IMO.

The NRA is seen as the boogeyman by the news media and politicians who support strong gun control.

The news media has supported strong gun control for years but despite their efforts gun rights laws such as "shall issue" concealed carry have swept across the nation.

It is only logical that the failure to implement strong control in recent years has embarrassed both politicians who support such legislation and the media. It's hard to admit that your best efforts have failed, so you need some big bad entity to blame. The NRA fits the bill nicely.

There is no doubt that the NRA is a powerful organization but it is revealing that the media with its strong bullhorn has been unable to stop the spread of NRA sponsored legislation such as "shall issue" concealed carry, "stand your ground and "bring your gun to work" across our nation.

It is my opinion that the reason gun control has lost in recent years is that a high percentage of the 80,000,000 gun owners and voting age members of their families show up at the polls to vote against any politician who wishes for stronger gun control.

In some states such as New York or Illinois a politician can proudly support strong gun control and get reelected. That is not always the case in states like Nevada or Montana or even in Texas or Florida. Politicians from these states can put their careers on the line when they support strong gun control such as another assault weapons ban.

It could be argued that an elected official should vote with his own conscience for the good of the nation. However it should be remembered that a politician is elected to represent the views of his constituency. If the majority of the voters who put you in office do not wish to see an assault weapons ban pass, should you vote for it?

Let's examine some political reality. Start with the the Senate of the United States. Each state gets two senators. The Democratic senators from New York, California, Illinois, Hawaii and Massachusetts may strongly support an assault weapons ban but the Democratic senators from states like Louisiana, Alaska, Montana, Tennessee and Alabama may be hesitant to do so. Some Republican senators from states which favor strong gun control may support the assault weapons ban but those from gun friendly states will not. The votes to pass the assault weapons ban in the Senate simply aren't there at this time. The House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans and the chances of the assault weapons ban passing is even lower.

Obama is one of the great charismatic speakers of our time. He also is able to mobilize a strong grass roots support for his vision for the future of our nation. Perhaps if he risks using his bully pulpit to campaign for strong gun control he may be able to force it through the Senate. If he can garner enormous support from the base he MIGHT be able to get a severely watered down version to pass the House but I feel that is unlikely in the next two years. Of course if Obama tries too hard to pass an assault weapons ban and fails it could hurt his chances of passing other legislation in his second term.

It is wise when you bargain to start from with strong demands. There are many ways to improve our existing gun laws that make sense and could easily pass. It makes sense to me to start insisting on another assault weapons ban and then to give up pressing for it in exchange for requiring a background check for all sales of firearms including private transactions. It might be possible to set up a requirement that anyone who does buy a firearm or ammo has to have proof of firearms safety training and/or a comprehensive background check.

Much of the gun violence in our nation is due to drug gangs fighting over turf. Chicago is a prime example. We lost our War on Drugs decades ago and we simply refuse to admit it.

Of course future events may change the gun control equation. A couple more tragic school or theater shootings involving the use of "assault weapons" like the AR-15 might swing the votes necessary to pass the assault weapons ban. It is quite likely that any person planning a massacre will consider obtaining an AR-15 because the media has widely publicized just how effective this weapon is for mass murder. At one time in the recent past the media always mentioned variants of the AK-47 as the most deadly semi-auto firearm but today firearms similar to the AR-15 are the most popular rifles being sold.

Of course you may stongly disagree with what I have posted and you might be right.

Time will tell.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

People have a right to redress grievances. The Government is all of us. We are the ones who are supposed to decide how to protect the common good. Lobbys (and corporations) are not The People.

and do nothing.

People just don't care enough.

we've never had real gun control, never mind what people do or don't believe about it.

But go ahead, defend guns today. That's the kind of blindness that allows this to happen.

just like you poo-poo'd discussion or our leaders supporting same sex marriage.

Nothing. We knew that. That's why the filibuster change is critical. Let the people see what a Dem Senate can do and contrast with the House

Even with gerrymandering we can take back the house as long as the Senate starts working Let the House be the place where good ideas die the next two years

And F**k the NRA and the Gun Lovers in this country. This is out of control. It's disgusting.

but, as of 9:30 am E.T. 12/13/12, there's been a sea change in this country. I smell it.

Watch and see - this is the last straw

Haven't you heard? The GOP controls that House. They will block everything. Might as well just give up!

Have them then look at the tiny child shot 11 times.

The NRA is still silent too. It's scared.

Why not -- Friday effectively took the fig leaf off. You are looking exactly at what 40 years of NRA and gun money have done for this country.

I probably couldn't stand to show my face in public neither.

The house? Yeah, they're nutballs. But nutballs who are in perpetual election mode.

So I take it you stand in solidarity with the NRA who puts second amendment pressure on politicians then?

Expected.

as if you're ashamed of it, or afraid to say what it is.

It's isn't a time to fuck around and be coy. You've been asked if you support this organization responsible for so many deaths, and you're not answering.

Who are you with?

as anti-2nd Amendment, in a subtle way of course.

Are you a supporter of the Norquist led NRA?

I've learned never to say never. I'm cynical that way.

or at an elite private school

Because the narrative is set: these kids will either have died for nothing, which is unacceptable, or they will have died as martyrs to the cause of gun control.

We're not going to let them "die for nothing." So there will be new legislation. Whether it will help, I don't know.

A proposed ban on sales of assault weapons would be defeated in the U.S. Senate today unless some members changed their current views, based on a Bloomberg review of recent lawmaker statements and interviews.

At least six of the 55 senators who caucus with Democrats have recently expressed skepticism or outright opposition to a ban, the review found. That means Democrats wouldn’t have a simple 51-vote majority to pass the measure, let alone the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster to bring it to a floor vote.

more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-25/assault-weapons-ban-lacks-democratic-votes-to-pass-senate.html

The other parts of it such as requiring background checks for all guns sold/transferred (even for private sales) and the limiting of magazine capacity could pass.

Here are some additional things that should also be considered: