What have the Republicans actually done for the 2nd Amendment?

I think some Repubicans are truly pro Second Amendment, but more just use it to get the gun owner's votes. Because of this the Repubicans do more on stopping anti-gun than advancing pro-gun legislation. The Democrats, on the other hand, are exactly opposite. The vast majority are anti-gun.
So the Republicans are still, as far as gun rights go, the better choice.
 
So the Republicans are still, as far as gun rights go, the better choice.
Click to expand...
Now if we could just get them to respect and uphold the rest. It seems the Gonzolas people that are bailing out sure do like the 5th. :o That one should be safe for awhile anyway.
 
Because of this the Repubicans do more on stopping anti-gun than advancing pro-gun legislation.
Click to expand...

If you say so.....

“[L]isten to the American public and to the law enforcement community
and support a ban on the further manufacture of [assault] weapons.”

-- Joint letter from former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy
Carter, and Gerald Ford Assault Weapons Ban Appears to Gain, The Boston Globe, 5/5/94

“As a longtime gun owner and supporter of the right to bear arms, I, too,
have carefully thought about this issue. I am convinced that the limitations
imposed in this bill are absolutely necessary. I know there is heavy
pressure on you to go the other way, but I strongly urge you to join me in
supporting this bill. It must be passed.”

-- Letter to former Rep. Scott Klug (R-WI), Klug Bows to Reagan Plea on
Ban, The Capital Times, 5/6/94
Reagan’s
Click to expand...

So I wonder how many votes President Reagen the uber champion of the Second Amendment and conservative protector of individual rights changed on the AWB?
 
So I wonder how many votes President Reagen the uber champion of the Second Amendment and conservative protector of individual rights changed on the AWB?
Click to expand...
Who cares ? That's too far in the past. What is important is how the congresscritters who are now in office are voting. And for that, all I have to do is look at item #5 and #6 in my first post (#2 above).

The voting record trumps all the rhetoric.
 
The voting record trumps all the rhetoric.
Click to expand...

Then again how they voted today might not be an indicator of how they vote in the future on an important second amendment bill either. A politicians record is only as good as the last vote.
 
Silver Bullet, No problem. Please, pm me with that question.

I am not bashing the republicans. I am just wondering why there is not any Pro 2A legislation. Why, when in control of congress and the White House did the republicans sit and wait until the AWB sunset? Why didnt the republicans repeal it, or at least make a big showing at trying to have it repealed? I want my vote going to someone that will submit pro gun bills, not only stop bad anti gun bills.

Marko Kloos,

I am tired of the status quo. I believe we need to ditch the 2 party system but, Ron Paul is not the answer. Sure, to protest against the republican party we could all vote for Ron Paul (if he, but some grace, got the nomination). What would we get? President Hillary Clinton. A Ron Paul, or similar, needs to run governor, of any state. Prove a record of leadership, serve a couple of terms, THEN make a run for the White House.

IMO, the republicans have not delivered any, ANY PRO 2A laws. That is sad because they could have, they only had more than a decade of control to do it, and half of that time they COULD have repealed the AWB.


I was not wanting to debate what the democrats have done vs what the republicans have stopped. We all know where the Democrats stand. The republicans, especially around election time, claim to be the 2A party. Where are the pro 2A laws passed? At least the Democrats know they are anti gun, preach anti gun, and actually try to pass anti gun laws.
 
I’ve read many times (even in this thread) that the Republicans are taking our votes for granted, and that we need to let them lose big in an election to get their attention again.

I’ve also read where folks have claimed that most of them don’t really care about about RKBA, they just vote for it because that’s what their Party does.

These two statements are in opposition. I also think that the voting record shows that the Republicans are voting pro-RKBA. Of course, progress isn’t nearly as fast or as extensive as we had hoped, especially with both a Republican Presidency, Senate, and Congress, but they are voting pro-RKBA.

Which brings me to my next point. If they Republicans are the only ones voting pro-RKBA, and if they’re only doing it to get our votes, then punishing them by not voting next election or by voting for the Democrats will not teach them they need to pay attention; it will teach them it doesn’t matter if they vote pro-RKBA or not.
 
Then again how they voted today might not be an indicator of how they vote in the future on an important second amendment bill either. A politicians record is only as good as the last vote.
Click to expand...

:confused: And I would claim that it is by far the best indicator we have of how they will vote tomorrow. They don't change on a dime. I think the voting record for the last eight years is consistent.
 
What have the Republicans actually done for the 2nd Amendment?
Click to expand...

In the past few years, virtually nothing at the federal level. To their credit, they did try to repeal the HDR & standard cap mag ban of 94, and tried to pass national concealed carry, but blissninny repubs and Dems stopped them.

The Repubs HAVE given us the unconstitutional machine gun moratarium (which is a de facto ban for the poor) - that was Reagan.

They gave us the import ban of 89 - Bush the Elder - this may be constitutional, as any gun banned under import COULD in theory be made here, so it's more of a protectionism law than it is an anti-gun law.

Certain repubs have TRIED to do things for the 2A, but they've been in the minority in their party - even when Repubs controlled the congress, they did essentially nothing to repeal bad gun laws.

That's federal level. On the state level, members of both major parties have done a LOT for the 2A with CCW laws and other things. To their credit, more Repubs than Dems have done this at the state level.

Bush Jr. promised to renew the HDR & SCM ban if sent to him - so the Congress is the only thing that saved us from him. But I don't view *stopping from passing anti-gun legislation* as progress. I view progress as REPEALs of unconstitutional laws like the 86 machine gun ban or the Lautenberg law. They had their chance prior to Nov 96 and the screwed the pooch, bigtime - now it's time for 3rd parties and 3rd parties ONLY as far as I'm concerned (at the federal level).
 
Certain repubs have TRIED to do things for the 2A, but they've been in the minority in their party - even when Repubs controlled the congress, they did essentially nothing to repeal bad gun laws.
Click to expand...

Agreed

That's federal level. On the state level, members of both major parties have done a LOT for the 2A with CCW laws and other things. To their credit, more Repubs than Dems have done this at the state level.
Click to expand...

On the State Level we are wining. That is the only area where we are gaining ground.



But I don't view *stopping from passing anti-gun legislation* as progress. I view progress as REPEALs of unconstitutional laws like the 86 machine gun ban or the Lautenberg law. They had their chance prior to Nov 96 and the screwed the pooch, bigtime
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
A politicians record is only as good as the last vote.
Click to expand...
All the more reason to look at their recent voting records.

It's also revealing to compare their voting records with their public rhetoric.

For example, some politicians claim they support "reasonable controls" and "hunters rights" but then turn around and vote for the banning of centerfire rifle ammunition, including .30-30.
 
Dust Monkey,

I don't have much to add to what others have posted to your question of "I sill ask. What have the republicans done for the 2nd amendment?"

But, I see it as they kept their noses out of the States' businesses regarding gun laws, good or bad. The number of CCW states have really ballooned since the mid 90's. To me, sometimes it's more important that Federal government doesn't involve themselves with issues than doing so...

If you want my input on what I think the Federal level should do...I think they SHOULD NOT make any more laws. I think the simple answer is to ABOLISH many laws that are in place...

Time to go back to the simple laws that SUPPORT only what the Constitution and Bill of Rights state. Let the states do their bidding...for now...
 
A politician's record is as good as the sum total of their votes. The last vote means nothing in and of itself.

This is the second time in a couple years that I have witnessed someone trying to say we can't base anything on a politicritter's record. Since there is nothing else to base a vote on, least of all what said critter SAYS, we essentially should just put on a blindfold and start pulling levers?
 
This is the second time in a couple years that I have witnessed someone trying to say we can't base anything on a politicritter's record. Since there is nothing else to base a vote on, least of all what said critter SAYS, we essentially should just put on a blindfold and start pulling levers?
Click to expand...
I agree. The voting record is the ultimate truth.
 
I haven't looked over all the responses, but my answer is "essentially, nothing." And many of our more odious gun laws were signed into law by Presidents Reagan and Bush I. Bush II has said that he would sign the AWB renewal if it got to his desk.

Mainstream Republican politicians are NOT pro-gun. They aren't as bad as Democrats, but they're still bad. 99.9% of them believe that guns in civilian hands should never be seen as combat weapons intended as a final check on government power -- only as hunting weapons and range toys. (Any citizen who thinks this way is also anti-Second Amendment in my view, even if he's a gun owner and major contributer to the NRA, GOA, JPFO, SAS, etc.)

As for Ron Paul, his hopes may be slim. But without him or others like him, our hopes of ("legally") keeping our weapons are ZERO. That's right: As long as the two-party status quo is maintained, our legal rights WILL eventually be lost. It's not a matter of "if," but of "when."

If your team only plays defense but never offense, and if the other team keeps taking shots at your goal, then it's only a matter of time before the other team scores and you lose the game.

How do current gun laws match up with what they were in 1920? That is what happens when you only try to prevent new laws without ever seriously trying to get old laws overturned.

Too many gun owners are willing to accept new restrictive legislation if it has a grandfather clause. But a grandfather clause should really be called a "grandchildren clause," because what it really means is that our grandchildren will not even have the same legal rights we still have.

Only two things can prevent Americans from losing their gun rights permanently:

(1) A major overhaul of the political status quo, e.g., by repeatedly electing politicians like Ron Paul.

(2) An armed guerrilla rebellion, which could end up causing an even worse government to take power.

Although my gun rights are non-negotiable, I prefer choice (1).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top