The "Assault Weapons" Ban is no more, as of a few hours ago.

It did have one salutory effect, though--it helped knock the Democrats out of power in Congress for the first time in four decades. One of the few good things that Bill Clinton actually did for the country.

Would that all of our laws had sunset clauses.

[Update at 10 AM EDT[

It's official.

It may well have the salutory effect of knocking another candidate out.

John Kerry is now claiming that such a bill will help prevent terrorists from purchasing weapons here. Conversely, a failure to extend the AWB is a vote for terrorism.

So, Kerry is, against most Democrats' better judgement, trying to push gun control. When that has been consistently a loser issue, for at least the last decade.

And, of course, John Kerry is no liberal. He certainly doesn't want to take away your guns. (Just the ones with pistol grips.)

Cringe....

One of the more delightful columns I've read in recent years was by a liberal feminist wife of a farmer in western Virginia. I forgot her name. The column was run periodically in the comics section of the Washington Post. Sometimes I liked what she had to say, sometimes I didn't.

The one column I absolutely loved was some time after Columbine. She went on about schools and guns and society. Then she finished the column with a description of they handled guns at their farm. It was a wonderful way of puncturing stereotypes. Guns are actually necessary in rural environments -- and everyone there knows how to use them properly.

This is a wonderful contrast to urban liberals who are quite unfamiliar with life outside their own little circle -- but are willing to tell everyone how to act. The same, sadly, can be said about a whole range of political groupings today. Everyone is so intent on proving the superiority of their own ideas that nobody is listening to others. Well, that's a bit of an exageration, but you get my drift.

I suspect the next dominant group in politics will be the one that starts listening to even their opponents and begins to look for common ground with them. It could be the Republicans or Democrats. It could also be the Greens or Libertarians -- or even some group that hasn't even been formed as yet.

I'm glad this thing is gone, now we need some other rollbacks on weapons laws. We need an national concealed carry permit.

I work in several states surrounding my home state, and sometimes we carry large amounts of cash. One of the states we visit has NO concealed carry, I have to keep my pistol un-loaded to transport it while there. I think an unloaded gun , of any kind, is just an odd shaped metal rock, or stick, with a wooden handle. Or more pointedly, it's useless.

With the dumbocrats unwilling to keep us safe, at least Mr. Bush did not stand in the way of us defending ourselves. And I'm not talking about terrorists.

Twice in the last year I've had my SKS out, when my better half was sure someone was in our house. My weapon is legal, legally bought, legal correct size magazine on it. But I stlll worried about using this "banned" weapon "legally". Now I'm less worried.

I know what you're thinking, an SKS for home protection? Yes, I like the sound the bolt makes when I chamber one, the bad guys won't, and may actually leave the vacinity if they here me chamber a round.