NRA says Congress won't pass guns ban
Source: Agencies |
January 15, 2013, Tuesday
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THE top US gun lobbying group said Congress doesn't have enough votes to pass a ban on assault weapons, while Vice President Joe Biden was meeting yesterday with lawmakers a day before handing President Barack Obama a set of proposals on curbing mass shootings and other gun violence.
The National Rifle Association has so far prevented passage of another assault weapons ban like the one that expired in 2004. But some lawmakers say last month's school shooting in Connecticut, where a gunman with a legally purchased high-powered rifle shot dead 26 people, has transformed the debate and that Americans are ready for stricter gun laws.
The NRA, with a history of punishing lawmakers who stray from its point of view, disagrees.
"When a president takes all the power of his office, if he's willing to expend political capital, you don't want to make predictions," NRA President David Keene told CNN on Sunday. "You don't want to bet your house on the outcome. But I would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress."
Obama could act through the executive power of his office instead, and Biden has said that is an option. Obama is expected to announce the next steps on gun violence after he is inaugurated over the weekend and enters his second term.
Meanwhile, senators plan to introduce a bill that would ban assault weapons and limit the size of ammunition magazines. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has promised to make a renewed push for a ban on assault weapons.
The National Rifle Association has so far prevented passage of another assault weapons ban like the one that expired in 2004. But some lawmakers say last month's school shooting in Connecticut, where a gunman with a legally purchased high-powered rifle shot dead 26 people, has transformed the debate and that Americans are ready for stricter gun laws.
The NRA, with a history of punishing lawmakers who stray from its point of view, disagrees.
"When a president takes all the power of his office, if he's willing to expend political capital, you don't want to make predictions," NRA President David Keene told CNN on Sunday. "You don't want to bet your house on the outcome. But I would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress."
Obama could act through the executive power of his office instead, and Biden has said that is an option. Obama is expected to announce the next steps on gun violence after he is inaugurated over the weekend and enters his second term.
Meanwhile, senators plan to introduce a bill that would ban assault weapons and limit the size of ammunition magazines. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has promised to make a renewed push for a ban on assault weapons.
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