OK, I get half my news from slate.com http://slate.msn.com/id/2083734/ NRA Weasel Watch, Day 7 Does it favor the weapons ban in Iraq? By Timothy Noah Posted Thursday, May 29, 2003, at 3:12 PM PT On May 21, the front page of the New York Times announced that the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq would no longer permit Iraqi civilians to own "automatic weapons and heavy weapons." Starting June 15, it will be illegal in Iraq to own privately any of the following: automatic firearms firing ammunition larger than 7.62mm; machine guns or crew-served weapons; anti-tank weapons; anti-aircraft weapons; indirect fire weapons; all armored vehicles or self-propelled weapons; and high explosives and explosive devices. . . . It's fun to imagine how the NRA would sweat its way through this question. If it supported the Iraq ban, it would win points for supporting our troops overseas but lose a lot more by creating an impression that it had gone soft. If the NRA opposed the Iraq ban, it would be give greater weight to the rights of gun owners than to the lives of American soldiers, not to mention all Iraqis who aspire to a form of government more exalted than mere anarchy. Bonus political science question: Can the NRA explain how Iraq became a dictatorship in the first place when its citizenry was armed to the teeth? Chatterbox has been phoning the NRA press office for a week, seeking comment on the weapons ban in Iraq. Every time he calls, a cheerful NRA employee promises a response. Every time, Chatterbox never gets one. Starting today, Chatterbox inaugurates the NRA Weasel Watch, which will document the NRA's ongoing efforts to duck Chatterbox's simple question. Today is Day 7.
Woofer, do you want to see the 2nd Amendment changed? Do you think that people should not have the right to defend themselves fairly against deadly force?
Well, I can't speak for Woofer, but I, for one, have to know if brown folks have gots the rights to bear the arms, according to the NRA.
Those weapons aren't legal in the United States either. The only possible use for those weapons is against the US military. Anyone protesting their loss would be basically saying they intend to fight the US military, and would be opening turning themselves into an enemy combatant. Typical political tactic, framing the question so accepting either answer makes the person look either bad or hypocritical. It would be like me calling Planned Parenthood and asking: Do you support human beings' right to life by opposing abortion, or do you support the wholesale slaughter of innocent babies?
It is not a right to defend yourself against deadly force that is the reason behind the outdated 2nd amendment. It is a right to bare arms in order to form a militia to overthrow an oppressive government that is the reason for the amendment. DD
Too bad those Republican judges with their strict interpretations haven't gotten around to the 2nd Amendment yet. 200 years of legislating from the bench on this one is getting a lot of people killed.
It's a different culture. The 2nd Amendment works in America because Americans have been gun owners for many generations- since the inception of America. We know how to use guns and we also have a strong legal system to prosecute gun crimes. That is different in Iraq. I don't think that the 2nd Amendment should apply to the whole world just because it makes sense in America.
Bless you DD-- That is the TRUE spirit of the Second Amendment. Hearing those nut-job NRA fanatics whine about the Second Amendment is enough to make you crazy. I am an avid hunter and outdoorsmen and own several rifles/shotguns/and a pistol. I get the most loaded and inflammatory letters from them--I don't think firearm owning Liberals are what they have in mind....
Are you saying that people haven't been owning guns in Iraq? Isn't the article saying that we want to take the guns away from the Iraqis, which would imply that they have been owning guns for a while themselves.
Same here. I've never been a member, and my dad cancelled his membership 20 something years ago when they morphed from a club for outdoorsmen & sportsman into a political machine. They're freaks. However, SM is right on with this one. These weapons have been illegal in the US for many years, and the NRA does not seek the repeal of the ban on automatic & heavy weapons. Terrible journalism by Noah.
Have they been available to the masses of Iraqi citizens? I doubt it. I bet the people who have them are the Ba'athist officials and terrorists. And they also don't have a legal system to take guns away from criminals.
DD, if wearing a tank top t-shirt would do anything towards getting Junior out of the White House, I would have been wearing wife beaters since the selection!
if there were no guns in the first place, wed have nothing to defend ourselves against. give everyone a gun! thatll fix it. with the way war is waged today, do we even need guns anymore?
Well, for what it's worth, this correction appeared in today's slate along with this passage that was edited out of the original post:
