New NRA Talking Point: Banning Assault Weapons Is Just Like Racial Discrimination [View all]

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Former National Rifle Association president Marion Hammer compared a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to ban assault weapons to racial discrimination. According to Hammer, "banning people and things because of the way they look went out a long time ago. But here they are again. The color of a gun. The way it looks. It's just bad politics."

Hammer's comparison came during a discussion on NRA News about Sen. Feinstein's plans to introduce legislation to ban assault weapons during the new Congress. Hammer warned that the United States government could engage in firearm confiscation "in order to control the masses."

Host Ginny Simone's claim that the proposed ban is about "banning the ugliest guns" is plainly false. According to Sen. Feinstein, the impetus for the ban is the capability of assault weapons, explaining in a December 17 press release that her legislation would target "the most dangerous guns":

The NRA has not shied away from comparing gun regulations to past instances of discrimination. In August, the NRA issued a press release that compared a decision by the University of Colorado to house students who wish to carry guns on campus in their own dormitory to the infamous 1896 Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson, which laid the groundwork for racist "separate but equal" laws. NRA News host Cam Edwards struck a similar tone on his show regarding the University of Colorado policy, stating, "We are back to segregation now."

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/01/04/new-nra-talking-point-banning-assault-weapons-i/192021