Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Lie #12: “Please, cut off the flow of machine guns coming into the United States into Mexico.”
Has Geraldo ever been a credible source of information? He was one of the primary enablers of the "Satanic Panic" of the 80s. Now he's enabling the "Assault Weapon Panic":
General Wesley Clark says:
I can't think too highly of general who doesn't even know what weapons his own military uses.
It seems Gen. Clark believes that semi-automatic rifles that are used by hundreds of thousands of people without incident (the ones that would be covered under an assault weapons ban) are the same as the fully automatic machine guns being used by his military and the drug cartels.
Machine guns like the ones being used by drug cartels are highly restricted in the US. They are registered with the BATF and watched very closely among many things. Even taking one out of the state it's registered in will net you 10 years in a federal prison. So it's obvious the drug cartel's guns aren't coming from the US. More than likely, they are coming from the same place as the drugs, RPGs, and hand grenades they also possess.
h/t to SIH
General Wesley Clark says:
I think we need to re-institute the assault weapons ban in the United States. If people want machine guns, let them join the military. We got em! But for public and personal use, absolutely not. That’s how they are getting across the border, and what the Mexican Government has asked of us is, “Please, cut off the flow of machine guns coming into the United States into Mexico.”
I can't think too highly of general who doesn't even know what weapons his own military uses.
It seems Gen. Clark believes that semi-automatic rifles that are used by hundreds of thousands of people without incident (the ones that would be covered under an assault weapons ban) are the same as the fully automatic machine guns being used by his military and the drug cartels.
Machine guns like the ones being used by drug cartels are highly restricted in the US. They are registered with the BATF and watched very closely among many things. Even taking one out of the state it's registered in will net you 10 years in a federal prison. So it's obvious the drug cartel's guns aren't coming from the US. More than likely, they are coming from the same place as the drugs, RPGs, and hand grenades they also possess.
h/t to SIH
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Lie #11: " We are going to look for new ways to talk about the gun issue where the focus is on crime prevention rather than gun bans."
Ray Schoenke of AHSA says:
Schoenke claims to not be for gun bans, yet he campaigned for Barack Obama, a man who has repeatedly and openly advocated gun bans and appointed cabinet members who seek to enact gun bans.
Schoenke himself calls for regulating .50 caliber rifles in the same way as machine guns, which would ban the purchase of new .50 caliber rifles.
We are going to look for new ways to talk about the gun issue where the focus is on crime prevention rather than gun bans.
Schoenke claims to not be for gun bans, yet he campaigned for Barack Obama, a man who has repeatedly and openly advocated gun bans and appointed cabinet members who seek to enact gun bans.
Schoenke himself calls for regulating .50 caliber rifles in the same way as machine guns, which would ban the purchase of new .50 caliber rifles.
Half-Truth #3: "...as long as they can produce an ID and pay for it."
Cali Techie says:
That's not completely true. The same laws that apply outside the gun show apply inside the gun show. That means if you're a federally licensed firearms dealer, you must do background checks both inside and outside of gun shows. If you're not a federally licensed firearms dealer (i.e. a regular guy who just wants to sell a gun), you're not legally obligated or even allowed to perform a background check in a gun show or outside of a gun show.
Aside from the fact that true military assault rifles are on average less powerful than the average hunting rifle, we already have an arduous process for purchasing those weapons or any other specialty weapon.
In order to buy a machine gun in the US, you have to first live in a state that allows you to own them. Second, you’re only limited to guns built before 1986. Then you have to submit to a 3-4 month FBI background check, get written permission from your local chief law enforcement officer, submit a set of fingerprints to the BATF, and pay for a $200 tax stamp. And you have to do this for every machine gun, suppressor, short barreled rifle, and short barreled shotgun you buy. These weapons are registered with the BATF and subject to random inspections.
You can't buy those weapons at gun shows or even most gun stores. They have to be bought from Class III dealers which are few and far between in the world of gun stores. So this...
... Is a lie.
Right now the way things are anyone can walk into a gun show and buy a gun as long as they can produce an ID and pay for it.
That's not completely true. The same laws that apply outside the gun show apply inside the gun show. That means if you're a federally licensed firearms dealer, you must do background checks both inside and outside of gun shows. If you're not a federally licensed firearms dealer (i.e. a regular guy who just wants to sell a gun), you're not legally obligated or even allowed to perform a background check in a gun show or outside of a gun show.
If someone wants to buy a specialty weapon like a high powered military assault rifle then they should have a special endorsement on their ID that says they've satisfied the government's requirements for that endorsement, of course they should still be run through the verification system.
Aside from the fact that true military assault rifles are on average less powerful than the average hunting rifle, we already have an arduous process for purchasing those weapons or any other specialty weapon.
In order to buy a machine gun in the US, you have to first live in a state that allows you to own them. Second, you’re only limited to guns built before 1986. Then you have to submit to a 3-4 month FBI background check, get written permission from your local chief law enforcement officer, submit a set of fingerprints to the BATF, and pay for a $200 tax stamp. And you have to do this for every machine gun, suppressor, short barreled rifle, and short barreled shotgun you buy. These weapons are registered with the BATF and subject to random inspections.
You can't buy those weapons at gun shows or even most gun stores. They have to be bought from Class III dealers which are few and far between in the world of gun stores. So this...
Many of the weapons bought at gun shows end up down in Mexico being used by the drug cartels or by street gangs in our urban centers.
... Is a lie.
