Congress' plan would let AG 'ban guns at will'

More Constitutional Rights being stolen from us!

The ONLY reason they don't want us to have guns is so the government can have total control over us citizens. The government can't get away with their atrocities if we have defenses.

It's time to impeach the whole government!

the supreme court already upheld the 2nd amendment and are (still) a coequal branch of the government. giving the power to ban guns to the AG would NEVER be deemed constitutional by the supreme court.

please everyone, learn how our government is structured. didn't we all take 8th grade civics?

It's funny how the right-wing nut jobs who cry and whine over losing their gun rights have no problem with tapping every phone in America and recording everyone's email conversations(except for the Republican politicians of course). They have no real concern over the constitution, they just want to be able to shoot whatever and whomever they wish with impunity.

An armed public are citizens
An unarmed public are subjects

The Brady campaign rated North Dakota an 'F' for gun control yet they had zero gun related murders in 2008.

http://www.stategunlaws.org/viewstate.php?st=ND
http://www.kxmb.com/t/schools/313515.asp

Proof positive gun control is not crime control. The places with the toughest gun laws like DC, NYC, Chicago and LA have higher gun related murder rates than places with more liberal gun laws.

An armed society is a polite society.

The only thing seperating us from citizens and sheep is the fact that we have guns, and we can fight back.

voices and unity are forces far more powerful than guns

They'll all end up causing a civil war; they have to know that majority of citizens in this country won't allow such disrespect to our rights. Either, they really believe they can get away with such acts or they want conflict.

The 2nd Amendment declares "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Since when are the people of the U.S. considered a militia? The US military maybe, but not her everyday citizens.

There is a very serious subculture in this country that truly (and inexplicably!) believes that so long as they possess a handgun…they are “safe” from some kind of “Red Dawn”-like government takeover.

Point 1) Bush was against gun control and he engaged in more gross abuses of power (and the elimination of Constitution rights!) far more than any President in our nation’s history. One could conclude that citizens owning handguns didn’t really stop Bush in anyway from using the Constitution as toilet paper. He all but declared himself a living god with unlimited power to literally have anyone he pointed a finger at tortured and killed without evidence, a judge or even a jury (he was a war-time President after all) and our ability to owe handguns didn’t slow him down in the slightest! Nor did the NRA (the ones usually screaming hysterically about the possibility of our government “taking us over”) seemed to not care at all. They remained die hard supporters of King Bush almost until the bitter end. Bush declared himself the “unitary executive” and publicly announced that the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution didn’t apply to him during a time of war…and the NRA simply shrugged and said, “Sounds good!”

Point 2) In the impossible scenario that the government decided to round people up (???) and force them into prison camps (???) how exactly is owning a handgun going to prevent the most powerful military machine in the world from running over you?

This is the part of the discussion that I find most fascinating. People really and truly feel that our government (the most powerful in the world with, up till recently, the most money) would decide to shut down all business, round us up, and place us in prison camps. Well, that would definitely put a crimp in the government cash flow, wouldn’t it? If we’re all sitting in prison…who the hell is going to be paying taxes and checking people out in line at Home Depot? Seems like a weird move for the RICHEST country on earth to do, doesn’t it?

The very idea is bizarre enough, but thinking that we could fend off the 101st Airborne is really out there.

In 1799 when both citizens AND the military owned the exact same muskets, sure, you could theoretically hold off the government.

Our army doesn’t use muskets anymore.

Our army has attack helicopters with depleted uranium armor piercing rounds. Our army has the most advanced tanks in the world. Our army has nuclear weapons.

Sooooo, yeah. Not clear on how owning a six-shooter is going scare off a Blackhawk helicopter and keep the government in check.

So when all the registered gun users get their guns taken away, only the criminals with unlicensed guns get to keep theirs?

This is a disaster waiting to happen...

Not really seeing a problem with the banning of guns at will. The only people really worried about not having their adult pacifiers are the ones afraid of there own shadow or anything else darker than they are.

As a sport, shot guns and some rifles could be allowed but handguns and machine guns have no place in a progressive society.

Sad!

Well this is not good lets say that much. This is infringement of our rights BIG TIME if this actually materializes. Just letting all of the people who don't care that much or hate guns know that when Britain didn't let handguns to be concealed, crime went up dramatically. Also even Gandhi, yes one of the biggest pacifists in the world, and a great man said something to the effect of: The worst thing that the British did when they took over India was took away arms because it left people with no way to defend themselves.
Just something to think about.

I would also love it if this wasn't a group of people saying gun nuts and crazy liberals, why don't we bring in some actual facts to the arguments so we don't sound like blubbering idiots.

If you are worried about freedom you should worry about issues around on-line censorship and net neutrality. Information is much more powerful than a gun.

If you own a gun you only endanger yourself and the one's you love. And you should pay dearly for the right to endanger those around you to satisfy some macho desire to play John Wayne.

I think the gov. should place so many taxes and fees on guns that they are cost prohibitive for most Americans.

Good. Guns should be limited to firing ranges and shotguns for hunting (even that last part can go) as far as I'm concerned. You really think a gun is going to stop the govt if they wanted to round up all of us, come on. Guns bring death and destruction and they breathe horrific results day in and day out. If we are to evolve beyond this stage of human development it has to be without guns!

Oh and those of you who are confused about the whole militia thing let me show you another side to it.
When the constitution was written we just won our freedom as a country, and we did that by forming militias and fighting the governments army.
So in our case, if our government got too powerful then we would create our own militias and fight against the government.
Militia is a military force made up of citizens in which their job is not the military.

Now the handgun, there has been no firearms law, with the exception of the ban on fully automatic firearms in the 1930s that has reduced the number of deaths by firearms. If anything some have increased the number of deaths.

Now since most of you are Americans you should have a big problem with this, infringement of ANY right is bad whether it be the right to spew nazi propaganda, or be able to defend yourself with a gun. The government should never have the power to do something such as "I am going to ban this and i do not need approval" Especially on something in the constitution. I do not care if you like guns or not, but do not stand for the government simply banning something without the people's input.

This is a simple infringement of our rights and ignoring the system of government that keeps everything in check, if we start letting them ignoring safety measures we might as well give up our rights right now.

Oh and can we please stop arguing with our gut feelings and put some data, stats, or facts out on the table.
Just because something FEELS like it would cause chaos and destruction doesn't mean it does.

Voices & Unity have NO POWER, without the means to back them up...
Since it has been repeatedly demonstrated that areas with LEGALIZED concealed-cary laws have LESS violent crime, the only reason for politicians to try & ban guns is to prevent Citizens from defending their constitutional rights!,...& by the way, I screamed VERY LOUDLY over every iota of erosion of Our Civil Liberties by "Shrub" & His cronies, & have contributed NOT ONE CENT to the NRA's political funding efforts (I'm a dues-paid life member) ever since They started promoting a RACIST, Fascist Agenda !!!
As to worry about the Government pitting the Military against the Citizenry, MOST of the Military are there to PROTECT the Constitution...Better to worry about the PAID MERCENARY THUGS of BLACKWATER & the like, whose only loyalty is to money & power !!!

obama has publicly stated that he believes that "the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms. He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns."

(http://obama.3cdn.net/7d467fe75a3029d7df_hum6injwr.pdf)

obama has also publicly stated that he supports "common sense gun regulations," which would be designed to restrict the availability of guns to criminals in areas with higher crime rates.

this article is purely speculative based on past actions of a man while working under a completely different administration. let's wait for further official statements before we all get our panties in a wad.

What makes you think you live in a democracy or a republic for that matter? You know nothing. Did you have high school social studies? Remember the concept/term oligarchy? Welcome to prison sex Amerika. Long live the myth. Gun nuts, liberal nuts --- aren't you all?

Remember, "When in the course of human events.......when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Sedition baby.

when the government comes knocking on my door... i want something to protect myself with!

So when Russia turned off the gas (power) to their neighbor the Ukraine....the problem was they didn't have enough firearms?

We're living in a new age.

Bush "took over" and radically rewrote our Constitution without firing a single shot or taking away a single firearm.

Russia is holding several countries hostage and successfully bending them to their will....all without firing a single shot or confiscating a single firearm. Their energy monopoly and manipulation is allowing them to do that.

China? Well, China holds ALL of our debt. They could destroy this country -- literally destroy it -- all without firing a single shot or firing a single missle. All they have to do is dump our debt and we'd be bankrupt tomorrow.

The world has changed, yet many people seem to think that everything is exactly the same as it was in 1850!

Even if we gave every single citizen 5 handguns each....China could still destroy our economy, Bush can still declare himself a god, OPEC can still turn off the oil and destroy us.

Some people just are getting it.

It's a NEW WORLD ORDER now.

Ok so everyone that owns a gun is a devout Bush supporter and so that’s why gun rights are a bad thing. Wow that makes complete sense. I guess we shouldn’t have freedom from religion because most atheist are evil commies! Or we shouldn’t have freedom of speech because anyone that shoots off at the mouth is mean :(

No, no, and no. The reason we have gun rights is simple, self protection. If you can’t acknowledge the fact that a well trained citizen is inherently better off at defending his or her own life and property in a dangerous situation then you’re crazy. Moreover if you cannot recognize the danger of relying solely on the generosity of the state and federal government for protection then you haven’t studied your history, or have been paying attention to the news.

There is a good reason why self protection is a fundamental right and that’s because any argument to the contrary is completely retarded. Seriously gun control is just a another term for prohibition and look how well that whole idea worked out.

My next door neighbor, who was dying of cancer had a perscription for oxycodone, was beaten to death by drug crazed intruders looking for the drug.
This happened in rural America where we have had zero murders in at least the last 20 years.
We used to leave our doors unlocked at night. now they are locked... dead bolted...
I now have a big dog and a loaded 45... I want to keep it...
You people who think that by taking away everybody's guns will somehow save more lives are living in a world of ignorance...

Self protection?

One could argue that recently released felons have a "right" to self protection and that it is "wrong" for the evil, oppressive government to limit their means of self-defense. You can't deny felons police protection or emergency healthcare...so how can it be Constitutional to deny them the same right to self-protection as the rest of us? (Those kind of pro-gun arguements start to sound like sophistry, don't they?)

One could also argue that ANY restrictions on ANY weapons by the government is an infringment on their right to self-defense. If a citizen deems it necessary to own a bazooka or a grenade launcher....surely the government can't "limit" that right, can they? And you could make the arguement that if 30 percent of the population owned military grade hardware (from surface to air missle launchers, assualt rifles, tanks, etc) that would "make us safer"

But none of these arguements really make any sense do they?

Most people can agree that giving everyone military grade hadrware won't make us "safer."

And if we can agree that banning citizens from owning military grade hardware is a reasonable position....then why is banning handguns unreasonable?