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Alan Colmes

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Right-Wing Freaking Out About Dianne Feinstein's Gun Control Suggestions

Posted: 12/28/2012 3:20 pm

Right-wing bloggers are apoplectic about proposals by California Senator Dianne Feinstein to control the use of deadly weapons. RedState uses her sensible ideas to claim "proof we are in a post constitutional republic." Alex Jones screeches that "the gun-grabbers are going for broke." WorldNetDaily warns that you better sign a petition to "keep your gun rights." Another headline shouts, "Feinstein lunges for our guns."

In fact, to get any news at all about what the senator is proposing, I'm practically confined to the spin on conservative websites. Google "Dianne Feinstein" guns and, with few exceptions, you get a compendium of anti-government paranoia. I wanted to see what they had to say at shotgunworld, another Google result, but stopped short when I saw, "This site may harm your computer." You may think guns protect you, but malware?

Feinstein's sensible proposal, par in almost every other civilized nation, calls for banning the sale, transfer, importation or manufacturing of military-style weapons and doing the same for magazines than can accept more than 10 rounds. And the 1994 assault weapon ban gets more teeth. But the Feinstein bill doesn't just go after gun owners; it also protects them by grandfathering weapons legally owned at the time her proposed law would be enacted. Grandfathered weapons would be subject to registration and background checks on the owners and any transferees.

Each night I get calls on my radio show from citizens concerned about overly intrusive government, and they point to gun registration as an example of an outrageous privacy breach. But, BREAKING NEWS for government-averse gun owners: It's too late to complain if you've ever registered a car, or have a Social Security number, or send the government your tax returns every year. Guess what? They already have much more on you than they'll ever get from the registration of your gun.

Laws in other civilized nations where gun violence is low are similar to what Dianne Feinstein is proposing. Conservatives who claim to care about the safety and well-being of children, even those already-born, would be wise to show they mean it by agreeing to public policy steps that would protect all of us.

Cross-posted from Liberaland

 
 
 

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02:05 AM on 01/25/2013
* Entertainment Donations/Contribution: 2012 - 80 Million - Top Recipient - Brarack Obama.
* Pharmaceuticals Donations/Contribution: 2012 - 180 Million - Top Recipient - Brarack Obama.
* NRA Polictical Donations/Contribution: 2012 - 24 Million - Top Recipient - Steve Fincher???
! This pretty much sums up the insanity about the gun bans. Source OpenSecrets.org.
01:25 PM on 01/24/2013
"It's too late to complain if you've ever registered a car, or have a Social Security number, or send the government your tax returns every year. Guess what? They already have much more on you than they'll ever get from the registration of your gun." I don't think the issue of privacy has to do with the amount of info given. The main issue with registration is then the government knows you own it so when they decide the current controls aren't substantial enough, they know who has them and can come take them. Don't think anyone's worried about the government coming for their car and your car isn't the great equalizer that keeps the government somewhat "of the people, by the people, for the people".
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06:40 PM on 01/23/2013
"Sensible"? Try reading the bill again. The result of which makes semi-automatic sporting rifles and any other firearm falling under this bill is more highly regulated than Class III machine guns. First, it requires registration as a Class III weapon, with a $200 tax stamp per firearm registered. The difference being that, while machine guns are transferable, ie can be sold to someone else by transferring the registration following the proper procedures, all these so called" assault weapons, determined by Feinstein personally looking at thousands of pictures of firearms, cannot be transferred or given to family and must be surrendered for destruction upon the owners death. Sensible is NOT a word I would use to describe this bill.
09:39 AM on 01/17/2013
So here are the first 4 guns on the proposed gun ban
M1 Carbine,
Sturm Ruger Mini-14,
AR-15,
Bushmaster XM15,

the second one on the list is a very common rifle, the Ruger Mini-14 was original based on the M14 military rifle, designed from 1967 to 1973 and introduced in 1974 it is a semi-automatic fire only rifle, that has proved popular with small-game hunters, ranchers, law enforcement, security personnel and target shooters. the Mini-14 cannot be converted to full auto it's receiver is to short and is not capable of cycling rounds rapidly enough for full auto, there is a full auto version that is available to military and law enforcement customers that has the longer receiver so that it can operate full auto.

Now to the important part, I have a friend that target shoots competitively and because of a physical disability can not cycle a standard bolt action rifle, so he uses a Ruger Mini-14 with a thumb hole stock, but because Feinstein wants to ban this gun he will not be able to buy any new ones and will not be able to continue to shoot, and because hi is missing two fingers on his right hand he can not hold a standard type stock so if something happens to the two guns that he currently uses for competition the he will no longer be able to compete in the sport he enjoys then his civil rights are violated.
02:30 AM on 01/08/2013
some keep talking about the children that were killed in Connecticut and as tragic as that event was if we are looking to protect children lets look at how children killed in America, in 2005 1.21 million abortions were performed (source : http://www.womenscenter.com/abortion_stats.html )for those of you who do not know how an abortion is performed the unborn fetus is dismembered and sucked out of the womb though a tube dumped into a Bio hazard bag thrown away, if this was done to a 1 month old the whole nation would be crying out for the blood of the person who did such a horrifying act, with an abortion no gun has been used and 1.2 million children have been killed so stop using Sandy Hook as the excuse to ban guns, if you want to save children go after the pro-abortion rights people.....abortion is not a right.
08:53 PM on 01/12/2013
Amen Bill
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10:05 AM on 01/07/2013
"[Callers] point to gun registration as...an...privacy breach. But, ...It's too late to complain if you've...registered a car, ...have a Social Security number, or [file] tax returns..."

This clearly misrepresents the complaint to make an invalid comparison.

Having talked to these people (nuts or not) then you are aware their gun registration complaint (right or wrong) isn't about "privacy".

It's specific: "The government should not have detailed record of that which is protected by the 2nd amendment for the single purpose of deterring government oppression."

"Laws in other civilized nations where gun violence is low are similar to...Feinstein's [proposals]."
Vague and misleading. Even a clear comparison of this type relies on "correlation implies causation". It ignores that all violence here is higher than "other civilized nations where gun violence is low". You're misleading AWAY from the real problem. Violent Americans.

We need gun control, but we cannot do without immediate, scientific, and politics-free discourse on the REAL PROBLEM. A violent culture producing criminally violent people killing in an infinite number of ways and are ignored when fixating on the tool choices of less than half of them.

Why are we violent? Are we becoming worse? How can we change? Can we help the most violent people before they kill? And yes: How does the tool choice factor in the frequency/type/severity of violence?
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03:33 PM on 01/06/2013
Dianne Feinstein et al - Freaks, Out and About to Control Guns?

Full Disclosure: CO, WI, CT shootings.. Are These The Work of "Lone Wolf" Gunmen?
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wZPS7AdgNgE#!
02:03 PM on 01/05/2013
The nation's murder rate is near a 40 year low and the number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is at an all-time high and rising by about 4.5 million annually. Right-to-Carry states had lower violent crime rates on the average than the rest of the country. Total violent crime in Right-to-Carry States was 24% lower; murder 28% lower; robbery 50% lower and aggravated assault 11% lower. The cities with the highest murder rates were cities with severe gun control.

FBI Crime Report 2007
FBI Crime Report is Bad News for Anti-Gunners 1/2009
05:00 PM on 01/14/2013
For one thing you're citing some rather old data, and for another - who cares? The point is that the USofA has a SIGNIFICANTLY higher number of gun related deaths every year than any other "developed" nation. Saying our local stats are decreasing means nothing when looking at the big picture
11:01 AM on 01/15/2013
ok you don't like the 2007 stats how about the 2011 stats, they show the same trend, the other important piece of information is the trend in violent crime in the US is that the crime rate in cities with a population of 100,000 and higher has a violent crime rate twice the national average, what that means is that large cities have twice crime rate and cities like Chicago that had 500 homicides in 2012 have gun bans that don't work, if gun bans worked the Chicago should have the lowest crime rate in the nation not the highest, the 2011 FBI report also showed that the violent crime rate has decressed over the last 10 years, and the biggest drop in crime begain after the "Brady Bill" gun ban ended in 2004, the CDC and the FBI also did independant studies that showed that "Assault Weapon" bans had no positive effect on crime rate, the FBI report went on to say that firearm related crime even went up in the first five years of the ban, and did not start to decrease until states started to enact concealed carry laws. and why is it that everyone on here that is anti gun wants to ban gun but never talks about cracking down on violent criminals you want to punish me and the rest of the law abiding citizens but not the actual criminal why,
11:02 AM on 01/15/2013
one more piece of info to chew on is the violent crime rate in England - one of those "Devoloped Nations" you were talking about, their violent crime rate is 4 time our national average at over 1300 per 100,000 population, ours is about 375 per 100,000 population, they have one of the worlds most restrictive gun bans. so Less Gun Doesn't Mean Less Crime or Less Murder" it just mean less gun for everyone but the criminals
08:03 AM on 01/05/2013
If you are a liberal think about how you would react if the gov told you you had to register certain things that you read... and that transfer of certain books was a crime? It may seem sensible to many posting here... but it calls for the registration of firearms. There are currently tens of millions of Americans who own hundreds of thousands of firearms that are not registered. There is no law for registration or gifting or sale of these firearms in most states. It is perfectly legal to give someone a handgun or rifle, your private property. Magazines... forget it. No such law in most states, and no real way to enforce such a law unless someone is busted selling one. Pushing new regulations on people... who is going to pay for it, and what is the government going to do about it when many do not comply? This is a terrible idea. Plays into the worst of American fears. 2nd Amend rights.. property rights... serious issues.. This is just a really bad idea!
03:49 AM on 01/05/2013
This video needs to be seen by everyone and shown on every TV and computer in America. It's worth the 6 minutes to watch it. Of course I can't wait for the responses to it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ooa98FHuaU0
12:31 AM on 01/05/2013
When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually...I ask, who are the militia? They consist of now of the whole people, except a few public officers. But I cannot say who will be the militia of the future day. If that paper on the table gets no alteration, the militia of the future day may not consist of all classes, high and low, and rich and poor... - George Mason, Virginia Constitution Convention

The conclusion is thus inescapable that the history, concept, and wording of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as its interpretation by every major commentator and court in the first half-century after its ratification, indicates that what is protected is an individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner. – Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 97th Congress, Second Session (February 1982)
12:30 AM on 01/05/2013
Anti gun supporters use A Straw Man Fallacy to argue because they have no argument
The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. Thomas Jefferson

Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. – James Madison

We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists. - Patrick Henry

To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them. – Richard Henry Lee 1788
The Constitution shall never be construed … to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. – Samuel Adams

A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. – Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c. 4BC - 65AD

Criminals obey "gun control" laws in the same manner politicians follow their oaths of office. – Anonymous
06:13 PM on 01/04/2013
AWENSHOK When I am taxed $200 per gun and not allowed to leave them to my heirs, which makes them worth nothing, I will recouped my investment by selling my guns in a dark street ally for cash then report them stolen. I bet those buyers will not be law abiding citizens. Some seem intent to get what they want there are 310 million guns in America they will not be going away anytime soon, unless they go the way I just described, its where most of the Criminals got their guns from when they banned them in other countries.

Here is a good a place as Mexico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/717058/posts for all you anti gun zealous, anti 2nd Amendment, gun haters, we do live in a global society so pack up and have fun.
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02:49 PM on 01/04/2013
Does this seem familiar? From the pages of Milton William Cooper’s 1991 book - Behold A Pale Horse:

“The government encouraged the manufacture and importation of firearms for the criminals to use. This is intended to foster a feeling of insecurity, which would lead the American people to voluntarily disarm themselves by passing laws against firearms. Using drugs and hypnosis on mental patients in a process called Orion, the CIA inculcated the desire in these people to open fire on schoolyards and thus inflame the anti-gun lobby. This plan is well under way, and so far is working perfectly. The middle class is begging the government to do away with the 2nd Amendment.”

READ MORE: 1991 Book Predicts School Shootings By Drugged Individuals In Order To Disarm Public
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01:28 PM on 01/04/2013
This video presents a rational, well-researched look at how violent crime in America has fallen even as more guns have been purchased. Violent crime in the UK is *higher* than in America, and most of the violent crime comes from large metropolitan areas, many of which have strict gun control laws.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oGaxDUwIkUs