Hillary Clinton calls for renewed assault weapons ban: they're a 'weapon of war'

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Hillary Clinton calls for renewed assault weapons ban: they're a 'weapon of war'

Clinton called for the reinstatement of ‘commonsense gun safety
reform’ in the wake of the worst mass shooting in US history at
a gay nightclub in Florida

Ed Pilkington in Orlando
Monday 13 June 2016 14.02 BST

Hillary Clinton has called for the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history that left 49 people and the gunman dead at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

In forthright comments a day after the massacre at the Pulse Club, the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic party issued a call for a return to “commonsense gun safety reform” and lambasted the Republican-controlled Congress for what she called a “totally incomprehensible” refusal to address the country’s lax gun laws.

“We can’t fall into the trap set up by the gun lobby that says if you cannot stop every shooting you shouldn’t try to stop any,” she said.

Clinton’s tough stance on gun control sets up a torrid fight with her Republican rival for the White House Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as a champion of the second amendment and dismissed any calls for greater gun controls as weakness. She insisted that while she did believe that law-abiding American citizens have the right to own guns, it was also possible to see that “reasonable, commonsense measures” could be taken that would make people more safe from guns.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/13/hillary-clinton-commonsense-gun-safety-reform-orlando-attack

[Jester Messiah]

1. Is she outright trying to lose?

Her answer is a knee-jerk gun grab while people are feeling vulnerable and afraid? No, that won't play in to Trump's hands AT ALL.

[Puha Ekapi]

3. No kidding...

[Dr Hobbitstein]

4. The last AWB wasn't a gun grab, and renewing it wouldn't be either. nt

[Lurks Often]

8. The 1994 AWB gave control of the House to the Republicans

Pushing more gun control is a loser for the Democratic Party. It cost us the House in 1994, it cost us the governorship in Texas which led to George W Bush being Governor of Texas and then President and it probably cost Al Gore the Presidency in 2000.

It probably led to many people buying magazine fed semi-automatic rifles before the ban took effect.

[Waldorf]

9. There was a reason the last AWB was allowed to sunset. It was determined that

so few of those firearms were used in homicides that there was no reason to bother with it.

[Eleanors38]

14. Actually, you are right: Legal sales of AR & AK platform rifles sailed right along...

during the ban, putting the type in the No. 1 spot of center-fire rifle sales. Sure, pass it again (it won't happen at the federal level), and the Demcratic Party will drop-forge millions of folks permanently as anti-Democratic Party; otherwise, bidness as usual.

[pablo_marmol]

13. Glad I'm going to a support group meeting tonight.

This fuckin' stupidity is making my head hurt.

[Puha Ekapi]

2. I don't know...

of any law, current or proposed, that would have stopped this jihadi monster from doing what he did.

And it's not even the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. There are four others just on the top of my head.

[beevul]

5. "they're a 'weapon of war'" which is issued to no armed force world wide.

"they're a 'weapon of war'" which is issued to no armed force world wide.


Semi-autos are civilian weapons, not military weapons.

[pablo_marmol]

12. Isn't it migraine inducing?!

President Obama has used the same language on multiple occasions. Is it any reason that so many folks on the left believe that AR's are fully automatic, or at least "fire at a much faster rate" than other "acceptable" rifles.

I've been depressed since the event.

[oasis]

6. Wake up America.

[sarisataka]

7. With all respect to Ms Clinton,

My Enfield *4 is more a weapon of war than an AR. Ditto my Springfield 1903

[ileus]

10. Mine aren't even weapons, in fact they're counter-assault firearms...

meant to save lives.

[aikoaiko]

11. In the words of Yahne Ndgo: "We don't trust what she says and we don't like what she has done."

When HRC talks about commonsense gun safety reform, I'll need to see details.

The 2013 AWB is a no go.

Universal background checks a la Toomey-Manchin would be ok if it coincided with lifting all import bans on non-NFA items.