Charlton Heston Dies -- A reminder that the 2nd Amendment is still in danger

Charlton Heston died yesterday at 84.  His film accomplishments are undisputed, yet many also know him as the former president of the National Rifle Association.  During his term, he fought to protect the second amendment, and appeared in many ads and commercials regarding the NRA.

It seems fitting to me to honor Charlton Heston's contributions by taking a moment to remind everyone that the second amendment is still under attack, despite a lack of news coverage or fanfare.  Few people know that while the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 expired in 2004, a new bill was introduced early last year in an attempt to replace it.  This bill adds several weapons to the list of banned firearms, as well as other more strict provisions than the original 94 bill.

What strikes me as insane is that this bill was introduced in February of 2007, over a year ago, and yet I have heard absolutely no news coverage of it.  Here we have a massive attack on gun rights, and the average person would have no idea it's happening.  While it isn't too shocking that the liberal media isn't covering this, I find it odd that no pro-gun lobby or group like the NRA has made notice about it.

Like the original "assault weapons" ban, the new bill would ban a variety of military or military-style weapons for the majority of Americans.  Why?  Well apparently people who don't like guns think that intimidating firearms are somehow more deadly than those that you'd expect a hunter to use.  Sure, in some cases you can carry extra ammunition, due to large magazine capacities.  But I'm not sure how having 30 rounds in your magazine all of a sudden makes you substantially more dangerous than if you only had 10.  Remember only three shots were fired when JFK was killed, and only one when Lincoln was assassinated.  Of course if you listen to gun control advocates, had Oswald and Booth has assault rifles, they would have been able to kill 27-29 more Presidents...

While the new bill has plenty of other insane provisions, the specifics aren't truly relevant today.  What is relevant is that despite the fact that no one seems to notice, the second amendment is still in jeopardy.  As Charlton Heston once said: “A clear enunciation of these rights needs to be enshrined in the constitution to guarantee that this basic right of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen shall not be infringed upon by anti-gun public officials.”