Just read this...Dems shift on gun issues
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:19 pm
Dems shift on gun issues
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The National Rifle Association warned in a campaign ad that if Barack Obama were elected president he would try to take away hunters' guns and ammo. But with pro-gun Democrats a powerful force in Congress, it's already pretty clear that there will be no messing with Americans' right to bear arms.
Twenty-two Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined Republicans last week in a Senate vote to negate the District of Columbia's tough gun-registration requirements and overturn its ban on rapid-fire semiautomatic weapons. More than 80 House Democrats voted for a similar measure last year.
"It was a pleasant surprise, but it's not a huge surprise that elected officials are listening to their constituents," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist.
It's not certain that the gun measure, attached to a bill on D.C. voting rights, will be a part of the final version of that bill. House plans to take up the voting rights bill this week were postponed Tuesday as Democratic leaders struggled over how to handle the gun issue.
But with six of 11 Democratic Senate freshmen voting for the proposal last week, it was a clear sign of where Congress is heading on gun issues.
"There has been a shift in thinking among Democrats in the last six to eight years, away from old ideas about gun control and limiting access to guns and toward ideas about how you actually reduce gun crime," said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a group of moderate Democrats active on gun-control issues.
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The National Rifle Association warned in a campaign ad that if Barack Obama were elected president he would try to take away hunters' guns and ammo. But with pro-gun Democrats a powerful force in Congress, it's already pretty clear that there will be no messing with Americans' right to bear arms.
Twenty-two Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined Republicans last week in a Senate vote to negate the District of Columbia's tough gun-registration requirements and overturn its ban on rapid-fire semiautomatic weapons. More than 80 House Democrats voted for a similar measure last year.
"It was a pleasant surprise, but it's not a huge surprise that elected officials are listening to their constituents," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist.
It's not certain that the gun measure, attached to a bill on D.C. voting rights, will be a part of the final version of that bill. House plans to take up the voting rights bill this week were postponed Tuesday as Democratic leaders struggled over how to handle the gun issue.
But with six of 11 Democratic Senate freshmen voting for the proposal last week, it was a clear sign of where Congress is heading on gun issues.
"There has been a shift in thinking among Democrats in the last six to eight years, away from old ideas about gun control and limiting access to guns and toward ideas about how you actually reduce gun crime," said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a group of moderate Democrats active on gun-control issues.
