By: Bill Hayes

1994 Called.  It wants its Assault Weapons Ban back.

It seems that lately the Republican Party has been defined not by what
it is for, but by what it is against.  However, with President Obama
in office, that is really not a bad public policy.  Perhaps it should
be called a failsafe.   Anyway, it should surprise absolutely no one
that the Republican Party, and anyone who still respects the Bill of
Rights, should be against the latest ideas of Eric Holder, the new
Attorney General.

While talking about civil unrest in Mexico, Holder said the following
at a press conference: “there are just a few gun-related changes that
we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban
on the sale of assault weapons.”  Apparently more limits on the
constitutional rights of American citizens are necessary to help
citizens of another country.  Is anyone out there surprised by this
rhetoric?  Did anyone expect less from the new Democratic
Administration?  Of course not.  The silver lining in this economic
downturn is that it is keeping the attention of the Congress and Obama
focused on how to nationalize American industry, instead of how to
further erode the Bill of Rights.

In case anyone was wondering, what Holder is inferring is that the
Administration would like to reinstate the 1994 Clinton ban on
“assault weapons.”  The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban is a classic of
liberal think: if we outlaw scary, military-like guns, then they won’t
exist anymore.  Unfortunately, this is not what happened in 1994, and
this is not what would happen in 2009, either.  The ban on the
cosmetic aspect of firearms did nothing to reduce crime, and it
further eroded the rights of citizens across this country to exercise
their second amendment rights.

However, all is not lost.  It is important to remember that a lot of
ticked-off gun owners were behind the Republican Revolution of 1994.
The Democrats must certainly know that legislation like a new gun ban
would do more harm to their election chances than good.   And if there
is another legislative fight against firearms, organizations like the
NRA will be better prepared to stand up for our basic freedoms.
Always remember:  the anti-gun zealots out there know that they cannot
ban guns outright and immediately.  It must be done in small
increments.  Never, ever give an inch, because they will always want a
mile.