# Reid Admits No Support For "Assault Weapons" Ban **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 19, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reid-admits-no-support-for-assault-weapons-ban/653402 "2013-03-19T22:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 31
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reid-admits-no-support-for-assault-weapons-ban/653402/31 "2013-03-20T07:40:47Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Since when was I denying anything? Clearly some number of people have said things somewhat similar to what you’re talking about… but there’s a huge difference between someone having said something about INTENT vs something about PRINCIPLES, etc. And of course if part of what you’re saying is that people were WRONG (and quite possibly some were), well, who, precisely? > But if it makes you feel better, then, sure, some number of SDMB liberals posted some number of things about some number of issues that were wrong. You got us! Yes, I’m saying some people were wrong, but that’s not exactly the topic for debate. What I am saying happened is: - Prior to Sandy Hook, an oft-repeated message was: _it’s foolish to refuse to vote for Democrats based on your Second Amendment support; the Democrats aren’t a danger to gun rights._ - After Sandy Hook, that statement was exposed as incorrect: many Democrats showed their willingness to sponsor and/or support restrictive (and cosmetic!) gun control legislation. - Despite that willingness, the combination of a near-united Republican opposition and a fear of political suicide by Democrats from more moderate states led to the defeat of the most visible such measure. So what I am now asking is: going forward, will the Democrats, and/or their vocal proxies here, again attempt to claim that electing them is safe from a Second Amendment supporter’s perspective? Note that your distinction between intent and principles is not exactly relevant. I certainly understand your desire to empathize that nothing in the above was underhanded – you claim that when the Democrats said they weren’t going to enact any gun legislation, they were being honest; then circumstances changed. That may well be true, but I’m not accusing the Democrats of bad faith. I am just pointing out that their prediction – for what very possibly might have been good, albeit unforeseeable, reasons – was not accurate. Will they return to it, even so? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reid-admits-no-support-for-assault-weapons-ban/653402)._