Breaking news: Assault Weapons Ban Not Upheld!!!

[etothepii]

The bill was NOT passed!

By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans scuttled an election-year bill to immunize the gun industry from lawsuits Tuesday after Democrats amended it to extend an assault weapons ban and require background checks on all buyers at private gun shows.


AP Photo

Kerry Urges Assault Weapons Ban
(AP Video)



The National Rifle Association began pressuring senators to vote against the bill after Democrats won votes on the two key gun control measures. The 90-8 vote against the bill virtually ends any chance for gun legislation to make through Congress this year.


"I now believe it is so dramatically wounded that I would urge my colleagues to vote against it," said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the sponsor of the gunmaker immunity bill.


Democrats won close votes on their amendments to change the Republican legislation, a strategy aimed at pressuring the GOP-dominated House to accept the restrictions to gain passage of the gunmaker-immunity bill.


While Democrats won't get the gun ban extension and the gun show legislation, they called the vote a success. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said, "The immunity bill was a terrible bill. We're better off at the end of the day than we were at the beginning of the day."


Underlining the importance of the day to Democrats, presidential contenders John Kerry (news - web sites) of Massachusetts and John Edwards (news - web sites) of North Carolina broke away from the campaign trail to cast their first Senate votes of the year, joining the 52-47 majority on the assault weapons ban and the 53-46 majority on the gun show bill.


A dozen Republican senators voted for one or both of the provisions, allowing minority Democrats to gain victories on the amendments.


The House last year passed a bill to shield gunmakers and dealers from liability suits by crime victims. But Republican leaders in the House refused to allow a vote on continuing for another decade the assault weapons ban, which is to expire in September.


Democrats had hoped their victories in the Senate on gun shows and assault weapons would force Republicans to let the House also vote on them. But the White House said the two amendments would only kill the effort to immunize the gun industry from lawsuits.


"Some are simply more interested in undermining that piece of legislation than they are in necessarily getting the other legislation passed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday.




[link]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20040302/ap_on_go_co/congress_guns[/link]

[strut]

Its a shame we could'nt get the junk lawsuits bill passed, but not at this cost.

Just another underhanded attempt by the liberals to sneak more anti-gun legislation thru, well it did'nt work this time.

[mike bell]

Well thats how we play the game fella's. If the other side has a bill you dont like, load it down with crap.

Lucky for us, we also told our Senators to kill the bill, if it was poisened by the AWB & gun show amendments.

Their little bait and switch backfired on the anti's this time because no AWB renewal, is not what they wanted.

A good day for gun owners, not to good for manufactures, but we live on to fight another day.

[gleninAZ]

Mike-I think it was you who posted the link to congress. If so thanks. I am really pi$$ed off at John McCain. He owns a ranch here and talks the talk but he is not going to rest on his laurels much longer as we still maintain a majority here on second amendment but it is declining with the east and left coast moving in. I will vote against him in the primary next time.[>:]

[1eyedfish]

I am really pi$$ed off at John McCain. He owns a ranch here and talks the talk

I use to think a few yrs back that MAYBE -he was a decent guy... for a poltican. Saw him on the news today yelling on thesenate floor about the so called gun show loopholes & the need to rid our nation of those things.

Where do they even get this crap from/ what loop holes? private sales? He,s as bad as those minabird,mimicing dem o cats it seems.

[JagMagMan]

As much as I hated to see the lawsuit bill bite the dust, I'm glad to see that the AWB and the gun show bills died with it!
Even though the anti's considered this a victory, I don't see it that way! The way I see it, sacrificing our lawsuit bill, sends a clear message that we are totally against the AWB and gun show bills!
As for McCain, I don't know why he has not switched parties yet! He is certainly not a conservative Republican! I have more respect for the liberals than I do for him!
McCain is a wishy-washy, turncoat traitor, who goes which ever way the wind is blowing, to suit his purposes! People like him should be shunned by all parties!

BTW, lets all remember our friends and especially our enemies, on election day!

[strut]

As for McCain, I don't know why he has not switched parties yet!

The main reason IMO is that jumping jim jeffords stole his thunder.

[slugman]

As we all bash Mccain ( dont like him either ) , but he did spend almost 2yrs in a POW camp in Vietnam. So I'll cut him some slack , just brainwashed by the anti's

[kevin1]

ORIGINAL: slugman

As we all bash Mccain ( dont like him either ) , but he did spend almost 2yrs in a POW camp in Vietnam. So I'll cut him some slack , just brainwashed by the anti's

What happened to him 40 years ago is no excuse for his anti-gun voting .

[CalHunter]

A partial victory now and we can get the rest later.