The "Urban Policy" section of WhiteHouse.Gov contains a discussion of President Obama's positions on many issues including "Crime and Law Enforcement." With respect to criminal law policy, the website states that Obama and Biden "support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent." The language refers to the now expired Assault Weapons Ban Act of 1994; the original statute phased out after 10 years. During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to renew the ban, and yesterday, Eric Holder announced that the administration would indeed seek to reinstate the policy.
Not so fast -- say Pelosi and Reid. According to The Hill, the two top Democrats in Congress do not want to bring back the ban. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, known favorably and pejoratively as a "San Francisco Liberal," said that instead of reviving the law, the government should "enforce the laws we have right now." And an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that "Reid would oppose an effort [to] reinstate the ban. . . ." Neither Obama nor Holder have commented on this matter to the media.
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