John Kerry

[Hawklore]

Ok, I'm a feeble unintellagible mind, and don't know crap about politics atm.








Will John Kerry take my guns away?

[lazs2]

kerry has vowed to fight the NRA.   The NRA is the most powerful if not one of the only groups fighting for your rights.. If you do not belong to the NRA then you are helping finestein and kerry take your guns away.

He probly won't take them away... they know that is allmost impossible this generation but he will restrict them so much that they will be allmost impossible to enjoy.

A strong NRA makes kerries vows simply hot air.  He will not anger voters... he has no principals so if he runs into a large voting block of gun owners he will forget the whole thing.

with a republican tho you are better off... he will veto bills that infringe on gun owners rights.. when a republican is in historicly there are less gun restrictions even brought before him.

voting for kerry is voting for more firearms restrictions authored by people that know nothing of firearms except their neurotic fear of them.

lazs

[ra]

Will John Kerry take my guns away?

Not if you surrender them peacefully.

[Ripsnort]

~Gun owner & hunter, but rights come with responsibility. (Mar 21)
~Democratic Party shouldn't be for the NRA. (Nov 2003)
~Supports assault weapons ban & Brady Bill. (Oct 2003)
~Voted YES on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
~Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
~Voted NO on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
~Voted NO on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks. (Jul 1998)
~Prevent unauthorized firearm use with "smart gun" technology. (Aug 2000)

[Hawklore]

Thanks Guys,

Thanks Rip, Kerry seems to be a voting mess, yes on some things no on others that go hand in hand...

[Tarmac]

George Bush is a ****up.  

John Kerry is a ****up waiting to happen.  

Take your pick.

[Dune]

Kerry has voted for gun control over the majority of his 20 years in congress.  The NRA give him a "F" grade.

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=132

[capt. apathy]

Originally posted by Hawklore
Thanks Guys,

Thanks Rip, Kerry seems to be a voting mess, yes on some things no on others that go hand in hand...

what you don't see on those simplified lists are what other things may have been attached to the bills he voted on.  sometimes the reason they vote for or against a bill has more to do with a small piece attached to it than the issue that the bill gets named for.

I really wish they'd make it mandatory to separate the laws and vote on the individual pieces on their own merit, it would make it harder on the influence peddlers who sell their vote on a big issue for the price of including a law that helps very few people.  it would also make it easier to pin a politician down on exactly what they vote on each issue.  but the fact is that as it now works you can't really call a politician on the carpet for most of their votes because there are always dozens of side issues buried in the bills.

but the short answer is that he's likely to have no effect on your right to won a gun.

[Tarmac]

George W has said he'd sign the "assault weapon" renewal bill if it came before him, so he's not any shining idol of gun owners' rights either.

[Hawklore]

Originally posted by Tarmac
George Bush is a ****up.  

John Kerry is a ****up waiting to happen.  

Take your pick.

I'll go with Tarmac..

[Bodhi]

Originally posted by Tarmac
George W has said he'd sign the "assault weapon" renewal bill if it came before him, so he's not any shining idol of gun owners' rights either.

It has been waiting for his signature for quite sometime, and... no signature so far.

[Bodhi]

Originally posted by capt. apathy

I really wish they'd make it mandatory to separate the laws and vote on the individual pieces on their own merit, it would make it harder on the influence peddlers who sell their vote on a big issue for the price of including a law that helps very few people.  it would also make it easier to pin a politician down on exactly what they vote on each issue.  but the fact is that as it now works you can't really call a politician on the carpet for most of their votes because there are always dozens of side issues buried in the bills.
 

AMEN....

that is the best way to lose special interest groups their influence over the way laws get passed or veto'd.

[Tarmac]

Really?  Last I heard it had passed the House but was still held up in the Senate.  Did they pass it too?

[Dune]

http://www.voteyoursport.com/

Lawmakers on hot seat as weapons ban expires
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
CAMPAIGN GIVING AND GUNS
 
•In 2000, gun rights groups made $4 million in contributions to candidates, 88 percent to Republicans, while gun control groups donated about a half million dollars, almost all of it to Democrats.

•In 2000, the NRA spent $16 million on contributions and other campaign efforts, such as TV commercials, billboards and mailers to its members.

WASHINGTON -- Gun control may emerge as a wedge issue in the fall elections, as Congress decides whether to reauthorize the assault weapons ban.

The 10-year ban expires this September, and advocates for and against renewal are closely watching lawmakers and the White House. The law banned 19 models of weapons.

The National Rifle Association, the nation's most influential gun rights group, is not expected to make any political endorsements, including for president, until after the Sept. 13 date on which the law expires.

"Of course, we're watching to see how this issue is handled on Capitol Hill," said Chris Cox, the NRA chief lobbyist.

The bill's fate may rest in the hands of powerful lawmakers such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, a vocal gun control opponent who has already suggested House Republicans may let the measure expire.

"Clearly the votes are not there in the House to pass the bill," said DeLay spokesman Stuart Roy.

However, moderate Republicans are expected to put pressure on the House to consider the ban, which has the support of a majority of senators.

Lawmakers are waiting to see if the White House exerts pressure to pass the bill. Even though he was a strong backer of gun rights when he was governor of Texas, Bush endorsed the assault weapons ban during the last presidential campaign.

"It makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society," Bush said in August 1999, in response to a shooting at a Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles.

Since assuming office, Bush has been largely silent on gun control issues. John Feehery, a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said any effort by the White House to have the assault weapons ban considered was "not on our radar screen."

Gun control advocates suspect that the White House is trying to have it both ways, rhetorically supporting the ban to appease moderates while keeping the GOP base happy by letting the House kill the gun measure.

"He is telling the American people he is with them on this issue, but with a wink and a nod," said Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Asked about whether the president is lobbying for the assault weapons ban, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Bush's position on the gun measure "remains unchanged."

Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry has backed the assault weapons ban and recently returned to the Senate to vote for an amendment that renewed the measure.

The gun amendment was tacked to a bill that would bar civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers. While the NRA backed the lawsuit provision, it successfully lobbied to kill the entire bill because it did not want the assault weapons ban to survive.

However, in an effort not to alienate gun owners in key states, the Massachusetts senator has stressed his support for hunting, going so far as to be photographed pheasant hunting.

Cox said there is "not a snowball's chance" that the NRA will endorse Kerry because of his long record of supporting gun control measures.

He said the Bush administration has supported a number of NRA goals, such as barring lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Last month Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the NRA national convention in Pittsburgh.

But, if the NRA is displeased with both presidential contenders, Cox said, not endorsing is "always an option." That was the route the gun group took in the 1992 and 1996 elections.

In 2000, the pro-gun organization endorsed Bush and spent more than $2 million promoting his presidential bid, despite his backing of the assault weapons ban.

Cox said Bush was preferable to Democrat Al Gore, who had been a strong gun control advocate. Some experts maintain that the NRA endorsement cost Gore crucial votes in a number of Southern swing states, such as Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia.

To marshall support for the assault weapons ban, the Brady Campaign has launched a series of rallies around the country, including a June march in San Antonio.

While the group has not yet made any endorsements, legislative director Tony Orza said, "Sen. Kerry has a good record on gun issues, and President Bush does not."

Cox said the NRA is preparing an expensive blitz to help favored candidates in the fall elections.

"We will be fully loaded and ready to go," he said.

Polls show a majority of Americans support the assault weapons ban, but voters' feelings about gun rights differ by region.

Opposition to gun control is part of the general social conservatism in the South that has hurt Democrats there recently, said Earl Black, a professor of political science at Rice University.

But Republicans, too, have worried about alienating suburban women, particularly in the Northeast, who support gun control.

Black said he suspects that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks some of those moderate Republicans may have become more concerned about personal security and less about gun control.

Staff writer Gebe Martinez contributed to this story