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Old November 5, 2008, 03:28 PM   #10
Evan Thomas
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Join Date: July 7, 2008
Location: Upper midwest
Posts: 5,631
Glenn E. Meyer wrote:
Quote:
Lots of political analyses mention that the Democrats did learn from 1994 and 2000 to stay away from radical gun proposals.

Of course, some in their party will put forward a radical plan - as the Republican right put forward some crackpot ideas - but not much came of it.

If Obama is intelligent (which I think), gun issues will be on a back burner. Of course, to the gun world it is the only issue which stands out but stand back, take a depth breathe and don't panic.
Glenn has it right again, I think.

With two misbegotten wars and a tanking economy on their plates, the new administration and Congress are going to have more pressing things to worry about. And, especially given that there isn't, apparently, going to be a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate, they are not going to risk alienating Republicans, some of whose support they will need to deal with other issues, by trying to push through anti-gun legislation.

In fact, I think one could make a case that, given those more pressing issues, and the President-elect's stated wish (sincere I think) to unite people rather than divide them, our gun rights may be safer, for the foreseeable future, than they were in the hands of an administration which has seemed bent on destroying so many of our other constitutional rights: habeas corpus, the right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure (the FISA act), etc. -- and to be generally hostile to the rule of law. (All those signing statements by Mr. Bush, which essentially said "You can pass laws but I don't have to obey them." )

My perception has been that it was just a matter of time until, in the name of the "war on terror," the current administration or its Republican successor started to promulgate restrictions on who could own guns, starting with members of "groups supporting terrorism," then moving to left-wing dissident groups, etc. I think few people on the right would have opposed such restrictions, and once the thin end of THAT wedge was in place, who knows?

So, yes, take a deep breath and don't panic.

Last edited by Evan Thomas; November 5, 2008 at 03:49 PM.
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