On Wednesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has beenadvocating banning one sort of gun or another for over 30 years, held SenateJudiciary Committee hearings on her new gun and magazine ban legislation, S.150, the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2013."
Among those testifying in support of the bill were John Walsh, the U.S.Attorney for Colorado, representing the Obama Department of Justice, Milwaukeepolice chief Edward Flynn, and Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter. Testifyingagainst the bill were former U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), Fordham Universitylaw professor and longtime Second Amendment scholar Nicholas Johnson, andattorney and constitutional scholar David Hardy.
Feinstein insisted on holding her own hearings because hearings held a month agoby Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) didn't produceenough support for her bill. In the earlier hearings, NRA ExecutiveVice-President Wayne LaPierre, University of Denver law professor David Kopel,and attorney Gayle Trotter spoke against banning "assault weapons"and magazines that hold 11 or more rounds, and also against criminalizingprivate sales, gifts and trades of firearms. Sen. Feinstein and most of hersupporters at this hearing demonstrated ignorance, hypocrisy, and bad behaviorfrom start to finish, and never offered evidence to support the restrictionsthey advocated.