By Dave Workman
Dianne Feinstein
Senior Editor
Anti-gun California Sen. Dianne Feinstein revealed during a meeting with her state’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention that she intends to introduce legislation to renew the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
It would follow the Democratic Party platform adopted in Charlotte, NC that calls reviving the ban a “commonsense improvement” to the nation’s gun laws.
Feinstein’s announcement came on the same day that Democrats were caught on camera apparently booing the outcome of a voice vote that restored references to God and Jerusalem to the platform. Both references had been deleted at the platform committee level, and okayed by a floor vote, but President Barack Obama personally asked that the platform be amended to restore the references.
Party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz insisted the omissions were technical oversights.
With Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa handling the gavel, he took three voice votes on the issue before deciding that the change had been approved by a two-thirds majority. At that point, many delegates began booing, leaving the impression that they were criticizing the vote. Some observers suggested that the booing was about Villaraigosa’s decision that the measure had been adopted by a two-thirds majority, but the visual impression remained that the boos were actually about including God and Jerusalem in the platform.
But it is the gun control component of the platform that has raised alarms in the gun rights community. According to the plank that was adopted, the party acknowledges that the Second Amendment is important but that some restrictions are necessary.
“We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition,” the statement reads, “and we will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements – like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole – so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.”
According to Southern California Public Radio, Feinstein told Californians at a breakfast meeting that “weapons of war do not belong on our streets, in our classrooms, in our schools or in our movie theaters.” It is a line that has been used repeatedly since the Batman premier shooting at Aurora, CO earlier in the summer.
