'Just a few' changes to gun laws

By: Jennifer Foster | Opelika Auburn News
Published: February 26, 2009 | 0 Comments | Post a Comment

All the focus is on the rollout of President Obama's proposed budget today, but here's a little tidbit that you sure don't want to miss.

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters yesterday, "As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make."

Just a few.

Chief among them, Holder said, is the re-enactment of the federal assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.

ABC News reminds us that the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban President Clinton signed into law banned 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns and ammunition clips with more than 10 rounds.

But wait! There's more!

Listen to the reasoning Holder gave for pursuing the re-enactment:

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.

Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.

... At the news conference today, Holder described his discussions with his Mexican counterpart about the recent spike in violence.

"I met yesterday with Attorney General Medina Mora of Mexico, and we discussed the unprecedented levels of violence his country is facing because of their enforcement efforts," he said.

Um ... is it just me, or does that sound like we are now making domestic policy based on what's best for Mexico?

Wow.

Holder said there are "just a few" changes the Obama Administration wants to make to gun laws. What are the others?

Cue the AG:

"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C. v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's right to own a weapon.

Remember what I was saying just yesterday about how Obama is installing more liberal people in high-profile positions where social change can be made?

Eric Holder: Exhibit A.

See also:

The State Department's travel warning regarding Mexico, which is mentioned in the ABC story from which this post was written. A couple of excerpts:

Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades. Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. During some of these incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area.

... A number of areas along the border are experiencing rapid growth in the rates of many types of crime. Robberies, homicides, petty thefts, and carjackings have all increased over the last year across Mexico generally, with notable spikes in Tijuana and northern Baja California. Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales are among the cities which have recently experienced public shootouts during daylight hours in shopping centers and other public venues. Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana.