The GOP and Guns
A lot of Republican strategists have worked long and hard over the past forty years to try and convince us little guys that we should be voting for the economic interests of the well off instead of voting for our own economic best interests. One way they've done that is by promoting the idea that the GOP is your friend on guns and distorting the gun positions that a lot of good Democrats hold.
If you've heard that story so often that you actually believe it, then you may not be aware of the actual gun positions many leading Republicans have held over the years. What follows may surprise you:
Ronald Reagan
Take a look at this clip where we'll let former President Reagan speak for himself. A lot of right-wingers today are as misleading about Reagan's positions as they are about the Democrats. President Reagan gave this speech in 1991 after he left office; in it he indicates his support for passage of the Brady Bill.
For those of you who don't remember what was in the Brady Bill that President Reagan was supporting, it included the following:
- A background check for handgun purchases, so felons, fugitives, drug addicts, and the mentally ill cannot purchase a handgun.
- A 7-day waiting period before a handgun purchaser could take delivery.
Here are some other interesting gun-related positions from President Reagan's past:
- Three years after supporting the Brady Bill, during the 1994 Congressional debate over the proposed Assault Weapons Ban, former President Reagan came out in support of that bill as well.
- While Governor of California, Reagan signed legislation mandating a 15-day "cooling off" period before taking delivery of a handgun.
- Also while Governor, Reagan signed the Mulford Act, which prohibited the carrying of firearms on one's person or in a vehicle, in any public place or on any public street. (This measure was in response to the Black Panther Party having advocated and commenced a policy of open carry for African-Americans.)
- As President, Reagan signed the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act. This Act included a controversial provision banning the sale of any automatic weapon not registered at of the time he signed the legislation.
So how should we characterize Ronald Reagan's positions on guns? Pro-gun pragmatism or soft on guns? As with every issue, it's up to you decide. We'll just say this: most of today's extreme economic conservatives, who want you to vote for their "let's lower taxes on the rich" schemes and try to convince you to do so by invoking President Reagan, also will try and mislead you as to Reagan's real positions on guns. Makes you wonder what else they're not being straight-forward about.
But to borrow a line from Paul Harvey, "Now you know the rest of the story."
More to come.
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