Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Here is the problem [View all]DanTex
(20,709 posts)I've even seen polls where the majority support a ban on all semi-automatics.
I've read differing accounts of the repercussions from the first AWB. Of course it's gospel on the pro-gun side that it lost the house and also it cost Gore the election. IIRC, even Clinton said something like that. But I've also read pretty persuasive articles that the gun lobby's power is overstated.
I get the enthusiasm gap thing, but it seems to me that most of the people who really care enough about AR-15s to vote based on this alone are probably voting Republican anyway. Certainly, outside of DU, none of the people who are all upset about this seem to be likely Democratic voters.
And as long as existing weapons are grandfathered, then all the talk of felonies is moot. Nobody is going to prison for a 30-round magazine that they forgot was laying around. So it's not really as drastic as you make it out to be. The question is whether Obama will be able to raise and sustain the enthusiasm from the majority. Apparently he thinks he can.
By the way, doesn't it seem a bit contradictory to on one hand claim that this is some draconian crackdown comparable to prohibition, and then go on to say that the ban is purely cosmetic? I actually tend to agree that "assault weapons" are arbitrarily defined, and that it would be better to put political capital towards a national licensing and registration system for all semi-autos and handguns. But, seeing how angry the NRA has become kind of reminds me of how I felt after the healthcare debate. There were a lot of problems with Obamacare, but the simple fact that Republicans thought it was the beginning of a communist takeover meant that it must have dome something right.