NRA Wins a Round on Gun Control

Holder backs off on assault-rifle ban despite Mexico pleas
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 26, 2009 10:21 AM CDT
NRA Wins a Round on Gun Control
Soldiers stand guard during a presentation of weapons seized during an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City. Mexico is irate that its drug cartels are armed mostly with US assault rifles.   (AP Photo)

Attorney General Eric Holder has backed off calls to once again ban assault weapons after a strong blowback from the gun lobby, Newsweek reports. Mexico is pressuring the US to reinstate such a ban, since US assault rifles make up 90% of drug-cartel arsenals. But when Holder floated the idea last month, the National Rifle Association triggered “action alerts” to its members.

Soon, 65 House Democrats, along with Montana’s Democratic Senators, signed a letter saying they’d oppose. Sen. Max Baucus even issued a press release entitled, “Senators to Attorney General Holder: Stay Away From Our Guns.” The White House, eager to avoid a fight on Capitol Hill, told Holder to back down. Expect an awkward situation when the attorney general visits Mexico next week. (More Eric Holder stories.)

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