Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Ban rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

Barrack Obama voted Yea in the U.S. Senate in support of what as commonly known as "Ted Kennedy's .30-30 ban". The .30-30 has been around since 1895 (only 30 years after the Civil War) and is one of the most commonly used deer hunting rounds in America. It is commonly fired out of a rifle similar to the one pictured above and below. There are tens of millions of .30-30 rifles out there.
When Ted Kennedy introduced the amendment to the Senate he called for the ban of the most common hunting rounds:
"In a recent report, the ATF identified three, .223 and the 7.62 caliber rifles, as the ones most frequently encountered by police officers. ......Another rifle caliber, the 30.30 caliber, was responsible for penetrating three officers’ armor and killing them in 1993, 1996, and 2002. This ammunition is also capable of puncturing light-armored vehicles, ballistic or armored glass, armored limousines, even a 600-pound safe with 600 pounds of safe armor plating. It is outrageous and unconscionable that such ammunition continues to be sold in the United States of America." - Ted Kennedy
Keep in mind that every round mentioned by Kennedy is one of the most popular rifle rounds as well as one of the most popular hunting rounds. However, the the text of the bill (H.R. 1784: PLEA Act) misleadingly seems to focus on pistols:
SEC. 3. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.
.......... ........
`(iii) a projectile that--

(I) may be used in a handgun; and

`(II) the Attorney General determines, pursuant to section 926(d), to be capable of penetrating body armor.'.
.......... ........
Body Armor Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers.'.
For those that don't know anything about guns, almost any kind of ammunition used by hunters to hunt deer is capable of penetrating body armor. And almost every rifle round is also capable of being fired out of a handgun. For instance, the most popular hunting bullet (.30/30) can be shot out of a BFR .30/30 Winchester Revolver.
Given that Ted Kennedy named the .30-30 bullet (as well as the very common .223 and .308) in the introduction of this bill, it would be difficult to assume that Kennedy accidentally attempted to ban this bullet. To drill the point home that there is no such thing as a "rifle round" please check out the Thompson Contender. It is "the choice of serious handgun hunters throughout the world" and there are about half a million of these currently being used by hunters. The basic design has been around since 1866, less than one year after the end of the Civil War. This wildly popular hunting pistol can fire just about every 'rifle' round known to man.

As far as the Attorney general clause, which some may consider a "nice sounding" safeguard for hunters, I suggest you check out the video below. The former Attorney General Gonzalas claimed Americans do not have the right of habeas corpus (the right to appear before a judge if your are thrown in jail) despite the fact that the constitution says:
“The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
Watch it yourself:



Read more about Gonzales here. And then there is Troy King, Alabama's Attorney General, that created controversy with his stance on the prohibition of sex toys. Clearly the Attorney General, or any single politically appointed individual, is not a strong safeguard for our rights.

Do you want either of these Attorney Generals controlling your freedom? Obama voted for letting your freedom, which includes the ability to do something as simple as hunting deer, lie in the hands of one person. The Bill of Rights was not designed to be so fragile.

Given Obama's strong anti-gun history, and Ted Kennedy's introduction of the Bill, it is difficult for many gun owners to believe that Obama was not targeting ALL hunting ammunition when he voted for this amendment. In the end this amendment was defeated 64 to 31, with 50 republicans & 13 democrats voting against. Of course some people will say that we are reading too much into this. To quote Obama, we are just "bitter":






Sources:
  1. U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 1st Session
  2. YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIFqYVAOosM
  3. tuscaloosanews.com, Former resident mocks AG’s sex-toy stance via YouTube, Dana Beyerle, Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 8:10 p.m.
  4. Thinkprogress, Gonzales
  5. Ted Kennedy, S1634 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE February 26, 2004
  6. The Remington Rolling Block Pistol, Ed Buffaloe, Jim Stoddard
  7. Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review,

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Constructive Criticism:

Make sure you get your terminology right. This was an amendment to a bill, not a bill. You should probably state which bill it was trying to amend, and the original purpose of the bill. It might be nice to put a one sentence summary of the final disposition of the amendment: "It was defeated 64-21, with X number of repubs & x number of dems voting against."

Culpeper said...

cliff-steele,

Changes made. Thanks!

Unknown said...

very very nice work on this site.


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