White House Readies Gun Control Stance

[Ben]

Looks like we're (maybe) getting closer to seeing what Obama / Holder have in mind. Though from govsspeak language in the article, it's hard to gauge.

Also, I'm interested in the "stakeholders". My understanding is that the NRA refused to participate. Does anyone know who all is in these working groups?

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/07/07/six-months-after-tucson-shooting-white-house-readies-gun-control-stance?test=latestnews

[HankB]

Having worked for a large corporation, when I hear buzzwords like "stakeholders" I'm thinking of large steaming piles of bovine excrement . . .

When I see Obama assert that " . . . the word 'commonsense' isn't a code word for 'confiscation,' " my gut tells me I'm not going to like the direction he's headed at all.

[AJ Dual]

I'm not too worried.

The whole exercise is going to be comprised of nibbling around the edges to shore up his liberal anti-gun base that he hasn't completely abandoned them on the issue, while not actually doing anything too significant to make gun control into a (losing) issue in the 2012 race, like the AWB made the '94 mid-terms a landslide for the GOP.

Sounds to me they want to shore up NICS with the information that's already supposed to be in there, but has gaps, and then call it a day, using flowery language to make it seem like a bigger deal than it is. Perhaps something a bit meatier, make legislation, then blame the Republican House for blocking it.

I see a very slight chance he might surprise us and do something really irritating through the BATF, or Executive Order, but the way everything's going post-Heller, he'll lose in the courts most likely, if he doesn't lose even faster on the Constitutional separation of powers issues first.

[Ben]

I hope you're right AJ, and that makes sense in an election year. What I'll be worried about is if they either wait, or do a second round of "common sense" if Obama becomes a lame duck after the election.

[AZRedhawk44]

Given that:

-The ATF doesn't classify IPSC/USPSA/GSSF as a "sport"
-The ATF doesn't classify shotgun defensive training/practice/competition as a "sport"
-The ATF doesn't classify any "3-gun" competitions as a "sport"
-Jared Laughner used a 33rd Glock magazine in his shooting

I expect to see a re-attempt at magazine size ban.  Probably something "sensible" around the 15 or possibly as high as 20 round limit rather than the previous 10 round limit from the 1994 AWB.  That would match the New Jersey size limit, and would also face less manufacturer opposition since many desirable guns don't hold 15 rounds in the first place.  Very, very few guns hold more than 20 rounds.

It will attempt to fragment the 2A community as the people most vehemently opposed to such an action would be the IPSC/USPSA/GSSF/threegunner community.  The NRA High Power community probably wouldn't care at all as long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to own space-gun AR's and single-load cartridges or run "2 and 8" in a pair of mags.

I also expect to see some expansion of NICS into the mental health community, coupled with electronic medical records sharing with the goobermint, exploiting the "meaningful use" incentive payments to practices that run an integrated EHR system with a government backdoor.

[Waitone]

Obama will not nibble around the edges of gun control.  He will go for the throat.  The man has a history of anti-gun bigotry.  Why would anyone think he will mitigate his positions now that he has the power of the presidency. 

[AJ Dual]

Obama will not nibble around the edges of gun control.  He will go for the throat.  The man has a history of anti-gun bigotry.  Why would anyone think he will mitigate his positions now that he has the power of the presidency. 

Because he did nothing when he had arguably anti-gun majorities in both houses? (Harry Reid notwithstanding)

We've already pretty much forced the Left in this country to chose between gun control, and the rest of their agenda during the '94 elections, and they chose the rest of their agenda as being more important.

[Kingcreek]

Well, now that he has fixed the economy and unemployment, fixed healthcare, and got us out of armed conflicts in the middle east, its about damn time he fixed that too-many-guns thingy.
Go Barry, Go...please GO.

[Balog]

I could see a lame duck EO import ban scam of some sort. But most policritters have learned the lesson well that gun control doesn't get you re-elected in a loooootttttttt of districts.

[Perd Hapley]

Well, now that he has fixed the economy and unemployment, fixed healthcare, and got us out of armed conflicts in the middle east, its about damn time he fixed that too-many-guns thingy.
Go Barry, Go...please GO.

Well played.

[MechAg94]

Well, now that he has fixed the economy and unemployment, fixed healthcare, and got us out of armed conflicts in the middle east, its about damn time he fixed that too-many-guns thingy.
Go Barry, Go...please GO.

That is another reason I am not particularly worried.  It was Reid and Pelosi that got his agenda passed before the last election upset things.  I don't think he is politically savvy enough to get Republicans to dance his tune like Clinton did.  The current budget battle will tell us a lot on that.

[Monkeyleg]

No way Obama tries anything with gun control. If he should win a second term, and if he got Democrat majorities in both houses again, maybe.

He's going to have a tough time with his election as it is. The NRA is going to go after him, but nobody will listen unless Obama actually does something.

[AJ Dual]

No way Obama tries anything with gun control. If he should win a second term, and if he got Democrat majorities in both houses again, maybe.

He's going to have a tough time with his election as it is. The NRA is going to go after him, but nobody will listen unless Obama actually does something.

Project Gunrunner, which to my mind ostensibly had a broader purpose of discrediting gun sales and RKBA in America in general, than it did anything to do with "tracking" Mexican gun smuggling, should offer the NRA plenty of fodder for the 2012 election cycle even if he does nothing else that is anti-RKBA over the coming year.

[birdman]

I expect to see a re-attempt at magazine size ban.  Probably something "sensible" around the 15 or possibly as high as 20 round limit rather than the previous 10 round limit from the 1994 AWB.  That would match the New Jersey size limit, and would also face less manufacturer opposition since many desirable guns don't hold 15 rounds in the first place.  Very, very few guns pistols hold more than 20 rounds.

It will attempt to fragment the 2A community as the people most vehemently opposed to such an action would be the IPSC/USPSA/GSSF/threegunner community.  The NRA High Power community probably wouldn't care at all as long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to own space-gun AR's.

The most popular semi-automatic rifles in the country are the AR variants, mini-xx variants, SKS (mag fed)/AK variants 10-22, ...  ALL of which can easily be (and in most cases are) used with >20round magazines, so I hope you meant pistols.  On that note, I can totally see them pulling a 17-19 round number out of their hindquarters to eliminate all extended pistol magazines, the 5-7 (which is "particularly evil" to them given it's ability to shoot through tanks and hold a thousand rounds), and if applied to rifles, basically result in AWB magazine sizes (by eliminating the 20rnd 7.62 and short AR mags and all the 30's).  Boy I hope surefire gets their 60/100 round mags in massive production FAST

[AJ Dual]

A magazine ban would have to go through congress which isn't going to be a non-starter in the House, and even iffy in the Senate with Reid there. Unless he wants to try an EO against imported ones. However, I'd think Clinton would have done it way back in the 90's if he really thought he could.

They even let in millions of (presumed, burden of proof on the us.gov) 30 round pre-94 AK mags during the ban years.

Look for piddly nuisance EO's and more likely, some attempts to shore up existing laws like NICS, and not much more.

[Ben]

I agree that it would be extremely tough to get anything through congress (barring a BIG change). I'm mostly worried about lame duck Executive Orders. Lets hope the lame duck thing doesn't happen. Though I'm not too crazy about some of the wishy-washy Republican frontrunners, who if elected, could very well push, or accept, gun control to show how "moderate" they are.

[grampster]

Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner is slowly heating up.  Over 65 million dollars of "stimulus" money was used to finance this felonious action.  I have heard people say this is worse than Watergate.  If it plays out as it should, Holder and Obama, among others, may be in prison before election day.

[Boomhauer]

I could see a lame duck EO import ban scam of some sort. But most policritters have learned the lesson well that gun control doesn't get you re-elected in a loooootttttttt of districts.

I don't know about that. From a lot of the ideas coming from D.C., I think most politicritters are too busy snorting lines of Colombian white to care about much of anything else...

[Perd Hapley]

Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner is slowly heating up.  Over 65 million dollars of "stimulus" money was used to finance this felonious action. 

This. If that is true (and Rush reported it, so it must be true!) it should be a huge black eye to the administration. But it will be ignored and forgotten. 

[Scout26]

Don't forget that he may try something with Gun Control to use as a wedge or negotiations tool to get other parts of his agenda through.  Now would be a good time to distract the R's from the Debt Ceiling talks by throwing out Gun Control as a distraction.

[brimic]

The NRA High Power community probably wouldn't care at all as long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to own space-gun AR's and single-load cartridges or run "2 and 8" in a pair of mags.

You would be very wrong about that.
I've been shooting NRA highpower for about 15 years and I have yet to run into a single shooter that even gives off such a vibe- A very large portion of them are ex-military as well.

[birdman]

When I see Obama assert that " . . . the word 'commonsense' isn't a code word for 'confiscation,' " my gut tells me I'm not going to like the direction he's headed at all.

Agreed.  Basically, whatever he says, I assume it's gonna be the opposite.

[longeyes]

Apparently, common sense doesn't include dealing with the southern border and fatherless families in the ghetto.

[roo_ster]

This. If that is true (and Rush reported it, so it must be true!) it should be a huge black eye to the administration. But it will be ignored and forgotten. 

Racist.





Jeopardy Contestant: "Alex, I'll take 'Accusations made by leftists when losing an argument' for $100"

[longeyes]

Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner is slowly heating up.  Over 65 million dollars of "stimulus" money was used to finance this felonious action.  I have heard people say this is worse than Watergate.  If it plays out as it should, Holder and Obama, among others, may be in prison before election day.

In the Age of Casey Anthony?  Not likely.  (But I agree with your assessment of the gravamen.)