What do you suppose is the most likely course the Obama administration will take on gun control in the following weeks and months? I see the possibilities as:
[ul][li]Relatively nothing; propose some politically cheap measures (AWB, etc.) that will get voted down in the legislature.[/li][li]Intermediate: push for measures that markedly increase the regulation of firearms- registration of all guns, a ban on private transfers, etc.[/li][li]Radical: anything from passing a law making all semiautomatics NFA-controlled to calling for the Second Amendment to be repealed.[/li][/ul]
I vote nothing.
Nothing.
They should ask Rupert to follow up on this tweet -
Terrible news today. When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons?As in Oz after similar tragedy.
— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) December 15, 2012
As I posted in another thread, I hope the Democratic Party goes all in and calls for repeal of the Second Amendment. They’d be voted out in record numbers, and unlikely to be in power for another 30 years. Maybe longer.
The Obama Administration, through Schumer, McCarthy, Rush or Feinstein, will introduce a bill to reinstate the expired Assault Weapons Ban, just as they always do. AG Holder might say something about it, it’ll get into committee, maybe make it out, and die there. If they have any sense about them they’ll attach it as a rider to a “Fiscal Cliff” bill so that they can blame the Republicans for both gun violence and impending economic problems.
Otherwise, nothing. Even if the reintroduced AWB passes it’ll still amount to nothing, to be honest with you.
There’s really nothing the can do until the attitudes of a lot of Americans changes. We’ve had posters on this board state that the occasional massacre is an acceptable trade off to any restrictive change whatsoever in the laws regarding gun ownership.
Ah yes, your old “guns are more important than anything else” routine. You as I recall are the one who said that you voted for McCain over Obama despite agreeing more with Obama on everything else because you thought he was a “gun grabber”. The attitude typical of the pro-gun side; nothing matters but guns. Nothing whatsoever.
I think nothing. I guess about four or five more of these in the next two months- or maybe babies next time - before it becomes politically acceptable.
The gun lobby is too powerful.
Maybe laws on magazine capacity - other than that I don’t see any (effective at least) laws being proposed. Obama can propose the, but democrats in congress can’t - and he knows that.
They are not going to do anything unless it has overwhelming support, so they are not going to do anything. Gun control is still political suicide, it would take a massacre like this involving children every other week for about a year before there was enough public support to mess with guns.
Maybe once a deranged Congressman guns down the entire North Carolina delegation on the House floor, we’ll see some action.
Until then, nothing.
They will come out forthrightly and propose a repeal of the Second Amendment in its entirety.
This will happen the day after Congress repeals Social Security, Medicare and the Defense budget.
Another vote for the “nothing” crowd. If there’s anything at all, it will be something like preventing people who have been institutionalized from being able to buy legally. Which won’t do much because there are so many people out there who should be institutionalized but aren’t.
As a liberal Democrat, I’d prefer nothing to the Assault Weapon Ban I see likely (as a bill, if not a law). I’ve read tons of gun control threads here and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone credibly challenge the pro-gun side’s assertion that the AWB is political theater at its worst. I’d love to see an America with fewer guns, less gun violence, and greater accountability for guns used in crime. But it seems that the cultural change has to happen before a legislative solution is possible. Proposing feel-good do-nothing policies exacerbates the problem by energizing the wrong side and placating my side. It polarizes people, delays a cultural shift away from guns, and discredits gun regulation.
And besides the practical and strategic shortcomings of the AWB, I have to admit that there is an issue of freedom here. At the most obvious level, any regulation that fails to achieve a legitimate goal reduces freedom without cause. But I also think that gun lovers’ suggestion of a “fundamental” right has to be taken seriously by those of us who disagree. There is no empirical test for which rights and freedoms are “fundamental” or “essential.” It is not a factual question but one of philosophy, value, and emotion. I regard freedom of speech and of the press as both fundamental and essential to a free society, but I would not like to defend that belief on purely rational grounds. I would almost certainly refuse to give up freedom of speech and my belief in it even if doing so would prevent some deaths or otherwise lead to some tangible benefit, and I would strongly resist any attempt to quantify the value of free speech in terms of some number of lives. I would not support banning any books on explosives in the wake of a bombing tragedy, nor do I think Jihadist manifestos should be banned. If I want society to err on the side of protecting the rights I believe in, even when it seems foolish, I have to extend the same courtesy.
You do credit to the original meaning of the word “liberal”. 
We’re practically all “small-l” liberals inasmuch as we all believe that government should make us more free to pursue happiness. I’m a modern, progressive liberal because I think that there are many legitimate ways in which government can do that, such as by promoting freedom from hunger and sickness and by providing the infrastructure and regulation necessary for free movement and free economic mobility. We lefties don’t really want regulation for its own sake, even if we occasionally lose sight of the ultimate goal, just like most “classical” liberals don’t really want the rich to run everything.
Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated and I can’t see how a ban on them would make any difference. Automatic weapons account for such a minuscule role in crimes using firearms that it would be the equivenant of banning heavy artillery in the US…basically a ban for solely political feel good reasons. The recent tragedy had no automatic weapons involved in it.
I’m with Airman on the possible political permutations…at most they may try and revive the AWB, but even that would be more symbolic without any substance or realistic impact on anything. Other than that possibility I’d guess Obama will do nothing. Dems in Congress might make a few meaningless gestures, but I doubt anything will come of any of them and they will mostly be simply fodder for their base.
I don’t suppose you have a cite to where I actually said that? I’m pretty sure I have called Obama a gun grabber, but I don’t think I’ve said that I agree with him on everything else. I disagree with his tax policies, among other things.
All President Obama’s comment about “meaningful action” will result in is another surge in gun and ammo sales. He is the best damn gun salesman this country has ever had.
And after reading most of the irrational and ignorant gun control responses on this board today, this law abiding gun owner, and hunter, after 40 years of responsible gun ownership and use, I finally joined the NRA today. Never felt the need to before.
Because we can’t talk about the mentally sick fucker who killed a bunch of first graders without attacking responsible gun owners.
Couldn’t be his autism/ADHD/over or under medication with mind altering prescription drugs, or anything else, could it?
Nope, it must be me, I’m the problem.
Obama will give lip-service to the issue, attend some of the funerals and use the podium as yet another campain stop. And then it will be on to the next thing.
Which just demonstrates the gullibility of many on the right.
Of course. He knows actually doing anything about the problem is politically impossible, so he’ll just make some noise until the momentary furor dies down. And then it’ll be off the media radar until the gun lovers get their next round of human sacrifices.