Neither me nor the American Rifle + Pistol Association supports Feinstein-esque semi-auto bans. You're beating up on a straw man there.
Both the NRA and the R+P support some level of restriction. But at least the R+P is transparent enough to explain where their boundary is. From their page:
The types of weapons, ammunition types, and ammunition capacities allowed by law should be established by Best Practices, as exemplified by the standards of local law enforcement, private security, and top competition marksmen and hunters – never by cosmetic attributes. Basically, whatever equipment the experts deem most appropriate and effective should be available to any other citizen potentially facing the same threats.
Police use AR-15s and high-capacity pistol magazines, so the R+P supports those for private citizens as well. Cops don't generally use M-60 machine guns or fragmentation grenades or flamethrowers, so the R+P isn't going to argue that private citizens should have unrestricted access to those either.
The NRA, on the other hand, has not given any coherent explanation of what they think the boundary of what private citizens should be able to have without restrictions. But that's NOT because they believe in no restrictions. They do believe in restrictions. If the NRA believed in literally no restrictions, as many here espouse, they'd be fighting for a repeal of the National Firearms Act of 1934. But the NRA ISN'T doing that, are they? The people here who believe in literally no restrictions should be just as hostile to the NRA as they are to the R+P, since neither organization supports those positions. And if you support the NRA, then you're supporting a lobbying group that has supported everything from the National Firearms Act of 1934 to the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990. You're throwing stones at R+P for not having a "no-compromise" platform when, in fact, the NRA doesn't have a "no-compromise" platform either.
So all those ridiculous Nazi and slavery analogies that have been tossed in my face in this thread? Go toss 'em at Wayne LaPierre as well, if you really believe that anyone who doesn't believe in zero restrictions of form is an "anti" and should be treated as a Bloomberg/Feinstein ally.
To be honest, I don't have a love affair with the NRA and I don't like some of their tactics either. But they're the best choice. (I vote the same way... I don't like the candidates but I vote for what I think is the best choice.)
I do give R+P credit for spelling out their position as you noted.
HOWEVER... when they claim they didn't know about MAIG... that throws up a HUGE red flag the size of China.
If they didn't know about MAIG, it destroys about 99% of their credibility. I do give 2nd chances so I'll continue to watch how they move forward. But I'm highly skeptical.
You quoted the following as part of their position.
Basically, whatever equipment the experts deem most appropriate and effective should be available to any other citizen potentially facing the same threats
I'm not a tin foil hat guy but the politicians, and if R+P is anti, will just end up saying the citizens don't face the same threat as the police and support further restrictions for citizens.
The politicians have already said and used this tactic.
The NRA isn't trying to repeal the 34 machine gun ban because they know that's not able to be won... at least in the foreseeable future.
But realistically, the only time I could quasi say they were a problem was during prohibition.
And that should be a big clue as to what banning alcohol and machine guns did. It created a huge criminal economy that was ruthless.
And the common honest man couldn't have a martini or a chance to have equal protection.
In fact, case in point... the police fought Al Capone using machine guns but the common honest man wasn't allowed to have a machine gun. Why, because we didn't face the same threat.
There's the real life history lesson as to why people don't trust that kind of verbiage. We've been burned by it before.
I'll agree with someone above...
but only in an ideal world... that after a criminal gets out of jail, he should have gun rights. He paid his dues.
Ideally, if they cant be trusted with a gun, they shouldn't be out of jail. They could drive a car thru a crowded bus bench if they want to kill people.
Again, I don't think you're a plant and you're welcome to PM me if you want.
I don't agree with you. I am open to listening to another opinion though.
I think that the prohibition/Al Capone/34 machine gun ban example should be taken as a real world example of how and why people don't believe any well intended proposal when its wrapped around further restrictions.
Feinsteins and friends (and there are a lot of them) actions over the last 30 yrs should be as well.
None of the proposed laws would have stopped Columbine (which happened during the AWB), Gabby's shooting, Aruora theater, or Sandy Hook.
You cant prevent intended violence with a law. It impossible.
To think otherwise is naïve or dishonest. (Naïve describes an honest, well intended, but un-inform person - - - Dishonest describes a politician)