This flyer has been circulating throughout the Simpson mill in Tacoma. The following attempts to get to the truth of the matter.
What’s So D*#! Funny About BANNING YOUR GUNS?!
You probably saw the flyer in the mill proclaiming that among others, Senator Kerry voted to ban “semi-automatic shotguns”, “semi-automatic rifles”, “deer hunting ammo”, “shut down gun shows”, and “blame the gun industry for the acts of criminals.”
Like so much other rhetoric your hearing from the gun lobby and the Republicans, it’s just not true – in fact, it’s a D*#! Lie!
What really happened here is that Senate Bill 1805 was offered to protect the gun industry from civil law suits similar to what happened to the tobacco industry. The bill was offered by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) with no co-sponsors.
Democratic Senator Boxer of California offered an amendment to require child safety devices during the transfer of handguns. This amendment passed by a 70-27 vote. With the Republicans controlling the Senate, the Republicans obviously voted for this in great numbers.
Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado offered an amendment to exempt law enforcement from carrying concealed weapons. This passed 91-8.
Republican Sen. Bill Frist of Tennesee, the Republican Leader of the Senate offered an amendment to regulate the possession of armor piercing ammunition. This passed 87-12. He also offered another amendment to allow the victims of the DC Sniper to sue if S.1805 passed. This passed 59-37. Sen. Frist then put an amendment on the floor to allow law enforcement personnel to sue those who help arm criminals. This too passed, by 60-34.
Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan offered an amendment to allow someone to sue if gross negligence was involved. This was agreed to 56-41
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona offered an amendment to require criminal background checks at gun shows. The Senate agreed to this 53-46.
Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein of California offered an amendment to extend the assault weapons ban for 10 years. The Senate adopted this too, by 52-47.
Look this over again, the Republican controlled Senate adopted these amendments, many by sizable majorities. It’s nothing more than a lie by the gun lobby to claim this is a Democratic attempt to take away your guns.
This is how the Senate works. Amendments are offered for many bills, quite often with no relation to the original bill (there were amendments offered for this bill that dealt with health care, civil rights, etc. – nothing to do with guns). This is politics in the raw.
What’s interesting to note is that the original bill, S. 1805, failed by a vote of 90-8, with most Republicans voting against it. Using the same logic the Republicans used in their Republican Convention accusing Kerry of voting against weapons systems (another Republican lie), it can be said here that the Republicans voted for allowing lawsuits to against the gun industry.
The Republicans, who have lambasted the last President for his lying, have become the biggest liars of all. Do what Ronald Reagan said about the Communists, “Trust, but verify.”
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The above information came from the Congressional Record. See the truth at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:S.1805: