Assault Weapons Ban - Drop it already, will ya? [View All]

Support it or not, there's only a rather loud and vocal few that are really pushing for this thing... and some of them are Repubs.


"Dems in tight races oppose gun ban
Sandlin, Stenholm fret over polarizing conservative voters

Some Democrats in tight re-election races are opposing a renewal of the assault-weapons ban, despite its overwhelming support from Democratic Party leaders.

The ban, which was enacted in 1994, prohibits the sale of certain assault weapons. With the ban’s expiration looming in September, several lawmakers are rallying to extend it for another 10 years.

However, the often contentious and polarizing issue has pinned some Democrats into an awkward political position of deciding whether to support their leaders or echo what their constituents want.
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.)

Democrats who oppose extending the ban are Rep. Charlie Stenholm, running against Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R) in Texas’s 19th District; Rep. Max Sandlin, seeking Texas’s 1st District seat; Rep. Rodney Alexander in Louisiana’s 5th District; and Rep. Rick Boucher in Virginia’s 9th District seat.

Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas) supports the current ban but has not determined whether he would vote to renew it, according to Frost spokesman Justin Kitsch.

Kitsch said Frost, who is locked in a heated battle for the state’s 32nd District against incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions (R), does not expect the issue to come up before the election.

“We see no indication that the Republicans are going to bring this up,” he said.

But other Democrats have taken a firmer position.

“If a bill comes to floor that will renew assault weapons ban, I will vote against it,” said Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) “In my congressional district, we have many people who own firearms and use them responsibly. They oppose gun control, just as I do.”

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