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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/4/17/205541.shtml?s=lh
Reid Warns Against Rush on Gun Control
NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, April 18, 2007
WASHINGTON -- After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid cautioned Tuesday against a "rush to judgment" on stricter
gun control. A leading House supporter of restrictions on firearms conceded
passage of legislation would be difficult.
"I think we ought to be thinking about the families and the victims and not
speculate about future legislative battles that might lie ahead," said Reid,
a view expressed by other Democratic leaders the day after the shootings
that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Democrats traditionally have been in the forefront of efforts to pass gun
control legislation, but there is a widespread perception among political
strategists that the issue has been a loser in recent campaigns. It was
notably absent from the agenda Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled
earlier this year when the party took control of the House and Senate for
the first time in more than a decade.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, a few Democrats renewed the call
for gun control legislation, and more are expected to join them.
"I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass commonsense gun
regulations in this nation," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California
Democrat who was a leader in the failed drive to renew a ban on certain
types of assault weapons that expired in 2004.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was one of very few lawmakers to defer
pushing for gun control in the early hours after the shootings. "There will
be time to debate the steps needed to avert such tragedies," he said on
Monday, "but today, our thoughts and prayers go to their families."
By coincidence, Kennedy and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., are scheduled to
attend a demonstration Friday at a firing range used by U.S. Capitol Police
to draw attention to microstamping, a procedure by which serial numbers are
placed on ammunition casings. The goal is to allow police and other
investigators to quickly track ammunition to the gun that fired it.
The two lawmakers support legislation to require microstamping for all guns
manufactured after 2009, and aides to both said they planned to go ahead
with the demonstration.
Overall, though, said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., "It is a tough sell" to
pass gun control legislation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a brief
meeting on the subject to discuss possible legislation, including a proposal
for an instant background check for gun purchasers. But there was no
apparent eagerness by Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., or her
to predict Democrats would lead a drive to toughen existing laws.
One senior Democrat, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, said gun rights
advocates are simply too influential to allow a tightening of gun control
laws. "It's a regional thing, it's a cultural thing," Rangel said, arguing
that even in areas where 85 percent of the people support more restrictions,
the 15 percent minority is far more active and outspoken.
Less than a month ago, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders abruptly pulled
legislation to give the District of Columbia voting representation in the
House. Republicans were using the issue to try to force a vote on repeal of
the capital's handgun ban, and Democrats feared it would pass.
Hoyer told reporters he thought and hoped the shootings at Virginia Tech
would make it harder for Republicans to prevail when the voting rights bill
returns to the House floor later this week.
He refused to be drawn into a discussion of the longer-term political
consequences of the shooting, saying, "All I am saying is there will be a
debate. I am not going to enter into the debate today."
Not all lawmakers were as reticent.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, one of Congress' most persistent advocates of gun
rights, noted that the student who police say was the shooter at Virginia
Tech had brought a weapon onto campus in violation of restrictions. He said
he doubted a law could be passed that would protect "any of us when somebody
who is mentally deranged decides to do this."
President Bush said in an interview with ABC News that he expects a debate
on gun policy, but now is not the time.
"I think when a guy walks in and shoots 32 people it's going to cause there
to be a lot of policy debate," he said. "Now is not the time to do the
debate until we're actually certain about what happened. And after we help
people get over their grieving. But yeah I think there's going to be a lot
of discussion."
One law enforcement official has said that the gunman's backpack contained a
receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. The gunman held a green
card, meaning he was a legal, permanent resident, federal officials said.
That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of
a felony.
Democrats have grown less supportive of gun control legislation as a party
in the past decade.
After the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, then-Vice
President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on legislation to
reduce the availability of certain firearms. He and other gun control
advocates claimed victory, but many strategists believe the vote hurt him in
the 2000 presidential election.
Gun control tends to win favor among suburban voters, but it often stirs
opposition in less heavily populated areas
So far this year, there has been little evidence that Democrats feel
otherwise after winning control of the House by picking up seats last fall
in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Arizona and elsewhere where hunting is
popular.
Reid Warns Against Rush on Gun Control
NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, April 18, 2007
WASHINGTON -- After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid cautioned Tuesday against a "rush to judgment" on stricter
gun control. A leading House supporter of restrictions on firearms conceded
passage of legislation would be difficult.
"I think we ought to be thinking about the families and the victims and not
speculate about future legislative battles that might lie ahead," said Reid,
a view expressed by other Democratic leaders the day after the shootings
that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Democrats traditionally have been in the forefront of efforts to pass gun
control legislation, but there is a widespread perception among political
strategists that the issue has been a loser in recent campaigns. It was
notably absent from the agenda Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled
earlier this year when the party took control of the House and Senate for
the first time in more than a decade.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, a few Democrats renewed the call
for gun control legislation, and more are expected to join them.
"I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass commonsense gun
regulations in this nation," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California
Democrat who was a leader in the failed drive to renew a ban on certain
types of assault weapons that expired in 2004.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was one of very few lawmakers to defer
pushing for gun control in the early hours after the shootings. "There will
be time to debate the steps needed to avert such tragedies," he said on
Monday, "but today, our thoughts and prayers go to their families."
By coincidence, Kennedy and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., are scheduled to
attend a demonstration Friday at a firing range used by U.S. Capitol Police
to draw attention to microstamping, a procedure by which serial numbers are
placed on ammunition casings. The goal is to allow police and other
investigators to quickly track ammunition to the gun that fired it.
The two lawmakers support legislation to require microstamping for all guns
manufactured after 2009, and aides to both said they planned to go ahead
with the demonstration.
Overall, though, said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., "It is a tough sell" to
pass gun control legislation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a brief
meeting on the subject to discuss possible legislation, including a proposal
for an instant background check for gun purchasers. But there was no
apparent eagerness by Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., or her
to predict Democrats would lead a drive to toughen existing laws.
One senior Democrat, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, said gun rights
advocates are simply too influential to allow a tightening of gun control
laws. "It's a regional thing, it's a cultural thing," Rangel said, arguing
that even in areas where 85 percent of the people support more restrictions,
the 15 percent minority is far more active and outspoken.
Less than a month ago, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders abruptly pulled
legislation to give the District of Columbia voting representation in the
House. Republicans were using the issue to try to force a vote on repeal of
the capital's handgun ban, and Democrats feared it would pass.
Hoyer told reporters he thought and hoped the shootings at Virginia Tech
would make it harder for Republicans to prevail when the voting rights bill
returns to the House floor later this week.
He refused to be drawn into a discussion of the longer-term political
consequences of the shooting, saying, "All I am saying is there will be a
debate. I am not going to enter into the debate today."
Not all lawmakers were as reticent.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, one of Congress' most persistent advocates of gun
rights, noted that the student who police say was the shooter at Virginia
Tech had brought a weapon onto campus in violation of restrictions. He said
he doubted a law could be passed that would protect "any of us when somebody
who is mentally deranged decides to do this."
President Bush said in an interview with ABC News that he expects a debate
on gun policy, but now is not the time.
"I think when a guy walks in and shoots 32 people it's going to cause there
to be a lot of policy debate," he said. "Now is not the time to do the
debate until we're actually certain about what happened. And after we help
people get over their grieving. But yeah I think there's going to be a lot
of discussion."
One law enforcement official has said that the gunman's backpack contained a
receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. The gunman held a green
card, meaning he was a legal, permanent resident, federal officials said.
That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of
a felony.
Democrats have grown less supportive of gun control legislation as a party
in the past decade.
After the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, then-Vice
President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on legislation to
reduce the availability of certain firearms. He and other gun control
advocates claimed victory, but many strategists believe the vote hurt him in
the 2000 presidential election.
Gun control tends to win favor among suburban voters, but it often stirs
opposition in less heavily populated areas
So far this year, there has been little evidence that Democrats feel
otherwise after winning control of the House by picking up seats last fall
in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Arizona and elsewhere where hunting is
popular.
