Democratic And Republican Views On Gun Control

Beto O’rouke On How And Why To Ban Assault Weapons

Guns have also become imbued with a religious meaning for evangelical Christians especially a key Trump bloc. As researchers Andrew Whitehead, Samuel Perry and Landon Schnabel explained following another shooting in Odessa, Texas, earlier in August, white evangelicals tend to see gun violence as a sign of growing American godlessness and corruption. Gun ownership is a way to protect themselves and their families from this threat.

Pro-gun paranoia reached a peak under Barack Obama, a black president who embodied white Republican fears about losing their standing in and control of America. In his 2017 book Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump, David Neiwert chronicles the rising pro-gun sentiment that characterized that era. As Republican Party organizer Leonard Junker asserted, “I truly believe that they want to disarm us.” The they, of course, being liberals.

The Political Battle Lines On Guns Are Shifting

On the politics of gun control, Democrats are suddenly facing an arms race.

After downplaying the issue for most of the past two decades, Democrats in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail are now advancing their most ambitious ideas to control access to firearms since at least the 2000 election, and arguably ever.

The new proposals range from a near-universal call from the field of 2020 presidential candidates to ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines to proposals from several candidates to require licensing of gun owners and registration of either all guns or assault weapons. Neither Democrats nor the leading gun control groups have seriously discussed licensing or registration since the 2000 presidential campaign, when Al Gore endorsed the former and many later partially blamed his loss to George W. Bush on the vice presidents positions on guns.

But the proliferation of proposals to regulate gun ownership, particularly from the presidential candidates, threatens to divide Democrats along lines familiar on other issues, from immigration to health care.

But moderates fear that Democrats pushing the most sweeping ideas risk alienating centrist voters who are ambivalent or uneasy about President Donald Trumps tumultuous term.

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Some Democratic leaders have been upset with the buyback discussion as well, arguing it undermines their efforts to pass other gun legislation after years reassuring gun owners they would not try to confiscate weapons.

And while expanded background checks are overwhelmingly popular in polls, critics such as the NRA argue that they and related proposals like gun licensing are an unnecessary and burdensome addition to existing laws and that criminals will evade the new requirements by buying guns illegally.

The NRA has also argued legislation granting immunity to firearms manufacturers, which they successfully lobbied to pass in 2005, is necessary to protect the industry from a deluge of lawsuits that could put companies out of business.

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Opinion: Republicans Want To Make Voting Hard And Gun Ownership Easy

With the increasing distribution of vaccines, we are finally starting to stumble out of the covid-19 pandemic. But mass shootings in Boulder, Colo., and Atlanta remind us that, long after covid-19 is gone, the epidemic of gun violence will still be with us because of the equivalent of the anti-maskers irrational, extremist Republican politicians who oppose nearly all gun regulations. The Republican position is enraging: They want to make voting hard and gun ownership easy.

Although covid-19 deaths dwarfed gun deaths last year, gun violence increased. A survey of 34 large U.S. cities found a 30 percent increase in homicides last year and more than 70 percent of homicides in the United States involve a gun. Guns are responsible for even more suicides than murders. The Gun Violence Archive reports that all gun-related deaths in 2020 totaled 43,536 a horrific figure that would not be considered normal or acceptable in any other high-income country.

The one category of gun violence that actually in 2020 was mass shootings after the two worst years on record. But even that trend is now changing for the worse. Last week, a gunman armed with a 9mm handgun that he had purchased just hours before his rampage killed eight people at three spas in the Atlanta area. Then, on Monday, a gunman, who police told CNN and the Denver Post was armed with a rifle, killed 10 people at a Boulder, Colo., supermarket.

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Meetings At White House

Trump and Republican leaders from the House and Senate met at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. House Republican whip Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, later told reporters he did not know if Trump and Congress would ultimately come to an agreement on gun legislation.

McConnell reiterated on Tuesday that he would wait for the White House to propose gun legislation that Trump would sign. On Monday, Trump stressed the need to protect gun owner rights.

With a majority of voters favoring background check legislation, Democrats are hoping to underscore the sharp differences between them and Republicans at a time when, according to a new Gallup poll, nearly half of Americans worry that they or a family member could become victims of a mass shooting.

This is a representative democracy and the people want it, and we have to perform our offices on the assumption – whether it is true or not – that everyone else in our political system will do their jobs, said Representative Jamie Raskin, a House Judiciary Democrat.

Staff-level discussions between Congress and the White House during the August break focused on red-flag legislation and proposals to close loopholes in current background checks that exempt internet sales and private gun sales, including those that take place at gun shows.

House Democrats, who are also nearing a majority of support for an assault weapons ban, expect the bills to clear the committee and the full House.

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Democrats Pressure Republicans By Advancing Gun Control Bills

By David Morgan

4 Min Read

WASHINGTON – U.S. Democrats in Congress, looking to heighten their profile on the hot-button issue of gun control, moved forward on Tuesday with new measures aimed at curbing gun violence, after President Donald Trump huddled with Republican leaders.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to approve three measures: a so-called red-flag bill, a ban high-capacity ammunition magazines for consideration by the full House and legislation to prohibit people convicted of violent hate crime misdemeanors from possessing firearms.

The legislation, which will now be considered by the full House, comes more than a month after gun safety surged back to the forefront of U.S. public debate in the wake of back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

The bills are part of a coordinated strategy between House and Senate Democrats to put pressure on Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on gun-related bills including universal background check legislation that passed the House in February.

We are not taking these additional actions simply to respond to mass shootings, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler told the proceedings.

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Republican Views On Gun Control

December 27, 2013 By RepublicanViews.org

The Republican Party has from the outset made public its commitment to the paramount nature of freedom and individual responsibility. This belief is said to be a fundamental principle to the party. Republicans believe in smaller government with fewer regulations. They believe that such conditions bring about a more efficient way to manage the affairs of a nation.

This political posture generally extends to the rights of Americans to own firearms. Republicans believe that American citizens have the right to own, carry, and use guns. This belief rests on an ideological firmament grounded in the interpretation of the Constitution along with the basic philosophy of the party. The Republican stance on gun control circumducts that which the party believes is in harmony with its core ideologies that the first ten amendments of the Constitution describe the undeniable rights of every individual American. Among these undeniable rights is the right to bear arms as spelled out in the Second Amendment. Republicans generally believe that changes in sociological norms have no bearing on the rights and freedoms defined by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

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Democrats Call For Limits On Guns

On one side, the violence has reignited calls for greater gun control legislation, a desire Democratic lawmakers are intent on fulfilling.

For the second time in a week, our nation is being confronted by the epidemic of gun violence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday. Action is needed now to prevent this scourge from continuing to ravage our communities.

President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday the Senate should “immediately pass the two House bills that would close loopholes in the background system,” referencing legislation that would expand the number of instances when a background check is necessary for purchasing or transferring a firearm.

“We should also ban assault weapons in the process,” the president said, echoing a long-held Democratic goal and a policy Biden himself helped enact in the 1990s.

Democratic lawmakers, who have unified control of Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade, are also pushing for more stringent screenings on the sale of weapons to people with criminal records, mental illnesses and past abusive behavior.

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Prominent Republicans Speak Out On Gun Restrictions

It would be a mistake to think that the whole of the Republican Party was of one mind when it comes to every aspect of the gun control issue. Differences between powerful and notable people within the party concerning gun rights can often be drawn based upon the geographical regions they are from and what positions they hold in the party.

The difficulty in finding a unifying principle pertaining to gun rights within the party is made more frustrating by media reports of gun violence in public places where the shooter wields some form of high-powered or high-capacity weapon. In the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association delivered a public speech that contained language which essentially called for armed security personnel to be posted in every school. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, LaPierre said.

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Does America Still Execute People

The Republican party broadly favours executing violent criminals while many Democrats oppose capital punishment although that has not always been the partys official stance.

The issue of the death penalty is a complex one. America remains one of the few western democracies which still executes people.

However, there were zero executions in the country between 1967 and 1977 thanks to a Supreme Court case relating to the eighth amendment which forbids cruel or unusual punishment.

And while the rate of executions steadily increased from that point peaking at 98 deaths in 1999 the number has now started to fall with only 28 in 2015.

While Hillary Clinton still favours the limited and rare use of the death penalty the Democratic National Committee favours abolishing the practice.

Joe Bidens plan for strengthening Americas commitment to justice includes the elimination of the death penalty. His statement reads: Because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every time, Biden will work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal governments example. These individuals should instead serve life sentences without probation or parole.

As of 2021, the death penalty is still authorized in 27 states.

The Truth About Democrats Support For Gun Control

According to gun rights advocates, Democrats support gun control because theyre statists. They believe the government should take care of citizens safety . They dont want to take on the responsibility of armed self-defense, and dont think anyone else should either . Which is true enough but not the whole truth. As the investor.com poll above indicates, Democrats cling to their anti-gun animus for another reason: they believe more guns = more crime. This despite the fact that . . .

the opposite is demonstrably true. Both individually and Americas falling crime rate .

Facts schmacts. With the disappearance of pro-gun Blue Dog Democrats, the Democratic Party has become dominated by left-leaning big city voters. Thanks to racist gun control laws and cultural antipathy, these supporters have no practical experience legally and responsibly keeping and bearing firearms. All they know is more guns = more crime. So gun control! Because less guns means less crime! Like this:

The vast majority of Democrats think gun control makes them safer. The vast majority of Republicans think gun control makes them less safe. Its obvious whos right . As I said before, the facts of the matter dont matter. Like all people, Democrats are listening to WII-FM . For the Democrats re: gun control? Nothing. Theres nothing in it for them. They dont have guns.

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Democrats Vs Republicans On The Issue

Generally speaking, Democrats and Republicans stand on opposite ends of the political spectrum when it comes to gun control. However, there are several common key points on this issue which have agreements with both parties. Amidst several high profile mass shootings in 2019, stringent background checks have been deemed necessary by a majority on both sides to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands. While this is true, there are still quite a few aspects that the two sides differ on.

Republicans stance on gun control stems from a deep-held belief in personal liberty and individual responsibility, and gun ownership being an extension of the right to self-defense. Republicans claim it is their right to protect themselves, family and private property from criminals, corrupt government, and war-time invasions. While some republicans do support gun control laws such as mandatory background checks, others are mostly against gun manufacturer liabilities and federal licensing. In addition, the National Rifle Association supports and funds several Republican lawmakers while also having a political lobby of their own. This adds a distinct dimension to Republican lawmaking that does not exist with the Democrats.

Public Opinion On Gun Control

Measurement of Party ID for this chart is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or “other” were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only “pure” independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents . Respondents who answered that they are “not sure” for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this chart.

Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: “Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?” Those who responded “Republican candidate” are considered Republicans and those who responded “Tea Party candidate” are considered Tea Party Republicans.

To assess the environment of respondents, we asked, “Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?”

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Percentage Of Population In The United States Owning At Least One Gun In 2020 By Political Party Affiliation

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Nra Continues The Fight

The NRA continues to fight back. “Anti-gun legislation politicians are all too eager to push legislation that only infringes on the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” NRA spokesperson Catherine Mortensen said in a statement. She said House Democrats’ push for gun control legislation “won’t make anyone safer.”

Even so a Quinnipiac poll from 2019 shows 94% of Americans support universal background checks. A recent Morning Consult poll showed that most Republican voters support an assault weapons ban, including 64% GOP women.

As public opinion on gun control shifts, the NRA’s power and influence is waning. Just this week, a fourth member of the NRA’s Board of Directors resigned after leaked documents showed NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre misused member dues on designer clothes and travel accommodations.

Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow at conservative think tank, American Enterprise Institute, said problems at the NRA may be giving Democrats'”great incentive” to move ahead.

David Chipman is a former ATF agent and senior policy advisor for Gifford’s Law Center, a nonprofit founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords who was shot at a public event in a shopping center parking lot.

He said veterans like Crow and federal agents like Spanberger have given the Democratic party a better platform for discussing the topic of gun control.

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