Do you think its a good idea to stock up on all pre-ban stuff you can NOW or do you believe it would be better to wait for the AWB sunset? If the ban sunsets prices will fall drastically! If it DOES NOT sunset prices will probably rise and you will end up paying more for pre-ban goodies.

The real question is will the Republicans save us from the tyranny of the assault weapon ban?

What do you do? Buy all you can now? Wait for the sun to set?

All opinions are appreciated!

[b]YES[/b]

R35

Even though it will sunset, I think it will be replaced by a permenant ban.
And I think that there are gonna be plenty of people in the gun community who will support it just so their precious Colts' don't drop in price.
Think about all those "collectors" who have been spending thousands of dollars to get their hands on mint preban colts. They don't want their precious collection to be worth squat.

It's been my experience that Gun Control never decreases just like taxes.  It only gets worse.  For example, check out the paper work you have to fill out which includes Manufacturer, Model, your ethic makeup, SSN, questions up the ass.  All it takes is one restraining order from a psycho-bitch girl friend and forget it.  A push for total registration is coming in the near future using the Canadian model.

I just can't see that the AWB will cease and desist, even with Republican majorities in the Senate and House.  Peter-less Jennings and Dan Blather will will be making a big deal about it along with the CNN commies.  Remember who controls the media.  Gun owners are an easy target.  We are easy to beat up on.  If you want to make a difference, write letters to your elected officials.

Buy what you can when you can.  5 years from now you will not regret it.

Spambo

The way the law is written means it will sunset. Now it being an election year and all, we know the democRAT candidate will support the ban and our fearless leader GWB is on record stating that he supports the ban. So my guess is the democRATS will use this as political ammo and GWB will issue an executive order to make the current bill permenant or something similar in order to win votes in 2004 and stay in office.
Or maybe a more restrictive ban will be slipped into some "homeland security" bill in order to keep us safe. [rolleyes]

I have to echo what you say here.

I will also go further and say that neither major political party is very interested in honoring the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. If you think someone is a friend to gun owners just because he is a republican, you're dreaming.

As much as I hope that it sunsets, and I can once again buy an AR with all the cool stuff, I am not holding my breath (requests from the peanut gallery not withstanding!).

I too, will buy what I can, when I can.

So, what is a real accurate tack-driver of an AR?

I vote for buy what you want when you can.  I personally am willing to see my meager collection lose value if that would make whole POS legislation go away, far, far away!

I don't know about preban, but i'm definately going to be investing a lot of my money in receivers in the next year.  Who knows how vicious the next ban can be!

Buy it now.  The AWB will be revived.

Let's not kid ourselves here.

CMOS

Buy it now, the AWB will sunset and at the VERY LEAST be reinstated. In my part of the world post-ban stuff has actually dropped in price. Not just pennies, but real dollars. I also have seen some significant drop in pre-ban pricing, not at the levels of the post-ban though.

Buy it now, the AWB will sunset and at the VERY LEAST be reinstated. In my part of the world post-ban stuff has actually dropped in price. Not just pennies, but real dollars. I also have seen some significant drop in pre-ban pricing, not at the levels of the post-ban though.

Used M16 and M9 mags are cheap right now; they will probably not drop much if the ban expires.  The military will not be surplussing them out anymore.

It would probably be worthwhile to have a few extra lowers or complete postban rifles; they will cost the same after 2004 - or more if they are included in a more comprehensive ban.

I'd wait on the Glock and NIW M16 mags though.

the republicans will pass a replacement ban, with no gap in coverage, and mr. bush will sign it. this way, they take the issue away from the democrats in the next election

Buy what you can when you can... having said that, I know a lot of people with extensive preban collections and none of them want to see the ban renewed. All of them want to see the ban sunset because then it will be cheaper to add to their collection.

Its OK to be skeptical about the chances of the ban not being renewed but WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!

Don't be one of these pathetic types that whines all day about how gun control will never go away so he/she can justify sitting on his or her lazy ass and not doing a damn thing to fight it.

It is one thing to write letters, support pro-gun candidates and work for change. Those people have a good reason to express their disappointment.

Summary: Be as skeptical as you like BUT KEEP FIGHTING BACK.

I can't answer your question, but I will address the issue of a replacement ban.

1.  GWB may be in favor of a ban, but he is only the guy who signs the bill, not the one who passes it. Thats up to the House and the Senate.

2.  Count on it being an election issue, and unless we get real lucky, it would probably pass in the house.  

3.  The key will be the Senate.  Representatives are up for election every 2 years so it will be an election year for all of them.  But, Senators only run every 6 years so only about 1/3 will be up for election that year.  They will probably vote for the ban unless they are pro-gun on the record and figure to win anyway.  The key votes will be those Senators who aren't up for election.  They are the ones we have to reach and convince that if they vote for the ban, we'll remember and vote them out when their turn comes up.

We don't have to win every battle here, just one.  If we can keep the Senate from passing the ban, it doesn't matter if GWB wants to pass it or the House passes it.  It stops at the Senate.

I'm not a politician, nor do I play one on TV.  If someone out there knows more about the system, please educate me, but thats my analysis.

Mark my words:
   Although I will do everything I can to prevent the AW ban from being renewed, if it is renewed (and ultimately must be signed by the prez) I WILL NOT VOTE FOR G.W. BUSH in 2004! I voted for him in 2000 and sweated out that nightmarish 6 weeks that followed, but the AW ban is my litmus test. I'll never vote Democrap, but I sure as hell will not hold my nose and vote for the "lesser of two evils". Bush, of all people, should realize the value of EVERY SINGLE vote!!!

Check out [url]http://www.awbansunset.com/[/url]

I would disagree with your analysis. The Senate passed the first bill with a larger majority than the House and effete Republican leadership in the Senate prevented the 1996 repeal (that passed the House successfully) from ever being introduced to vote on.

Our hopes are 99% in the House - the bill barely passed the first time (with a Democratic majority and a Democratic president). Even then the Dems had to enforce party discipline (vote the way we tell you to or no soup for you!) and compromise quite a bit (sunset clause) to get the bill passed in the House.

This vote cost them so many seats in 1994 that they refused to enforce party discipline on the 1996 repeal that passed the House.

In 2004, we will have a Republican dominated Senate (they aren't our buddies; but at least don't feature active hostility to the Second Amendment as part of their party platform) and a pro-gun majority in the House (230 NRA A-Rated Congressmen).

Yep, gun owners, smokers, and overweight people. These groups never get any respect and no one is interested in protecting their rights.

Try again:
Last time it only passed by a vote in the house.  Democrats paid the price in the next election.  It cannot pass the house.

Furthermore, republicans now control the senate.  Yes, republicans have proven that they aren't very interested in preserving the constitution either, but nonetheless, most of them are not so anti-gun as to [b]introduce[/b] a new bill to create a new ban.  Republicans get to control the agenda now and they are far more concerned about banning partial birth abortions, getting tax cuts, "homeland security," etc.

The ban will sunset, because the old bill says so.  There will be a gap of at least six months from the time the old bill sunsets until the time a new bill could replace it (when folks elected in 2004 get to start deciding things).

Na na na na, na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.

Sell now and make a profit.  pre/post, no such thing after 9/14/2004.

I think this prediction is partially accurate.

What's really going to happen is the Congressional Republicans, especially the moderate ones or those from urban districts, will want to get the issue off the table in the 2004 campaign season.  For conservative, rural, western members, there is no issue.  The moderates will need the help of the conservatives.  Let's not forget how important "quid pro quo" is to the political process.

I see conservative Republicans giving the moderates what they want in the form of an indeterminate extension of the ban early in 2004 that can be 'cancelled' by later vote.  That vote will come after the 2004 election.  Chances are with a strong Bush-Cheney ticket, nearly all Republican incumbents will be re-elected.

The payoff comes in early 2005 when an obscure amendent is tucked into a massive appropriations bill.  The amendment lets the AWB die a natural death.  No Republican member in his/her right mind is going to support shutting down the government over the AWB amendment.  Of course, all those moderates will be obligated to go along.  And GW Bush is going to sign the appropriations bill because he doesn't want to shut down the government either.

We conservatives can play the parlimentary game too!  This is why, despite my hero Ronald Reagan's pleas to the contrary, a line item veto is bad government.

not a chance in hell of them backing off a gun law

Thanks for all of the opinions! It seems that there is a reasonable chance that the bill will go away. If it doesn't go away completely I think that the bill will be altered to make it more favorable for gun owners. GWB has been quoted as saying he agrees with the mag capacity limit so we might get a new ban that only covers mag capacities but allows us our flash suppresors, threaded barrells, etc....

I believe this article pretty well predicts the future of the ban:

[url]www.awbansunset.com/essay_vanorden1.html[/url]


If I can swing the cash I think I will buy 1 pre-ban M4 configured AR and wait to see what happens before buying anything else. Of course I already have plenty of pre-ban mags:)