Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Marion Hammer, Ex-NRA President, Compares Assault Weapons Ban To Racial Discrimination

Marion Hammer, former president of the National Rifle Association, recently spoke out against an effort by congressional lawmakers to reinstate a ban on assault weapons, comparing such action to discriminating against people "because of the way they look."

In an interview on NRA News on Thursday, host Ginny Simone and Hammer argued that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was making a misguided crusade against gun owners with her push to renew an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.

Simone then falsely claimed that supporters of the assault weapons ban "admit this is about banning the ugliest guns, it's about cosmetics and it has nothing to do about how a firearm works."

Hammer responded in agreement.

"Well, you know, banning people and things because of the way they look went out a long time ago," she said. "But here they are again. The color of a gun. The way it looks. It's just bad politics."

Feinstein first announced her renewed push on the assault weapons ban last summer after a gunman opened fire in a Colorado movie theater with a military-style assault rifle, killing 12. In that statement, she spoke out against large-capacity magazines and semiautomatic weapons that she said were better designed for "hunting people" than deer. In a statement issued in the wake of the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn. -- in which a similar weapon was used to kill 26 people, including 20 young children -- Feinstein repeated her intention to target weapons and ammunition loading devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

Feinstein's campaign for an assault weapons ban has also drawn backlash from gun owners who see the move as something other than an attack on guns over their ugliness. Former U.S. Marine Cpl. Joshua Boston recently penned a letter accusing Feinstein of "overstepp[ing] a line" with the legislation, and reminding the senator that he was not her "subject," "servant" or "peasant."

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Nick Wing

No comments:

Post a Comment