Eric Swalwell Goes To Washington

Michael Ford January 4, 2013 at 01:49 pm

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/01/03/FBI-More-People-Killed-With-Hammers-and-Clubs-Each-Year-Than-With-Rifles

BobG January 4, 2013 at 02:05 pm

An overwhelming majority of Americans, include Tri-County residents, back increased gun control in our modern society. A hunting rifle is one thing but a semiautomatic handgun or rifle that can pop off 30 or more rounds without reloading is a threat to law enforcements officers and to all law abiding citizens.

libertus_rebelium January 4, 2013 at 02:06 pm

This would get us out of there real quick, I'm all for it.
The pentagon is BY FAR the largest vacuum of money right now and needs to be brought in a bit. Make that A LOT.

Mike January 4, 2013 at 03:33 pm

Joellen King says that he-she-it earned the entitlements of Social Security and Medicare by paying into those programs. What about the elderly parents of immigrants who are getting these benefits without paying a penny into those programs?

Tim January 4, 2013 at 03:49 pm

Magazines and clips that hold more than 10 rounds are already ILLEGAL in California. For that matter, they are also illegal in Washington, DC where NBC's David Gregory committed a felony by possessing a 30 round clip during his on air interview with Wayne LaPierre on Meet The Press.
So when the next murderer uses a handgun with multiple 10 round magazines (can reload and fire again in about 2 seconds), will we then be talking about banning ALL semi-auto weapons? Oh wait, the state of Illinois already is. THIS is why I support the NRA, because for you gun grabbers, it's never enough. You won't be happy until all guns are banned and confiscated.

DKL January 4, 2013 at 04:05 pm

BobG, do you even know what a semiautomatic handgun is? Semiautomatic simply means that a round is fired each time the trigger is pulled. It is the most common type of gun in the U.S. and the world. It is the most effective weapon for self defense because it can be fired with one hand if necessary.
Here's a link to a great article that explains the terms used in the gun control debate and also explains sone of the issues. It was written by someone who is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject, unlike most politicians and pundits. http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/ Congressman Swalwell, if you happen to be reading this, please read the article before you co-sponsor useless legislation. The article also addresses "assault weapons", which essentially means "weapons that look scary".

Debbie White January 4, 2013 at 04:45 pm

Congratulations, again, Eric! We're proud to have you "truly represent" us in the Bay Area! Your story of returning to DC is inspirational... best wishes!

DKL January 4, 2013 at 05:34 pm

Dick and Libertus...despite Obama blaming the deficit on "two wars on the credit card", this OMB/White House chart shows that that is absolutely not the cause of our problems. Note when the deficit really took off...almost exactly when democrats won control of congress.
The ONLY thing that will solve the deficit is economic growth. Increasing taxes and adding regulations WILL NOT get us there. http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/160863/ Congressman Swalwell, please take note.

Camaro on Cinderblocks January 4, 2013 at 05:58 pm

As TIM said, 10 rounds is the max clip you can own in California. What would this "increased gun control" consist of?

DH January 4, 2013 at 07:04 pm

It is not illegal to own a magazine with over 10 rounds of capacity in California. It is illegal to buy or posses one that was manufactured after January 1, 2000 when the ban took affect. Someone who owned 1 or 1,000 December 31, 1999 can still own them. The high cap magazines manufactured before 2000 were available for sale (at an inflated price) for years after the bay began.

Julia January 4, 2013 at 07:50 pm

Triple may be referring to the real entitlements that congress has...
Eric, I'd be very proud if you pushed for congressional reform... Congressional Reform Act of 2012... fell off the radar... How about Congressional Reform Act of 2013?? 1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. 2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 02/1/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

Tim January 4, 2013 at 08:43 pm

This is true, HOWEVER, in reality, it was illegal to purchase magazines over 10 rounds since September 13, 1994 in the state of CA because federal law made these devices illegal from this date through September 13, 2004. CA law continues this. Another point about the CA law... it doesn't matter when the magazine was manufactured. It has been illegal to purchase or import them since January 1, 2000, even if they were manufactured prior to this date. If you own one manufactured in the 1990s, you cannot legally sell or transfer it to another person today. You can continue to legally possess the magazine and you can technically import the "parts" to "repair" a legally owned hi-cap mag.

Tim January 4, 2013 at 08:45 pm

It would consist of an outright ban on ALL semi-automatic handguns and rifles, REGARDLESS of magazine capacity... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/03/firearms-groups-vow-to-fight-illinois-gun-ban/

Stephan January 4, 2013 at 08:51 pm

@Mike
You get out of Social Security relative to what you paid into it, so an elderly parent of an immigrant can't draw on it. You are probably thinking of SSI or Medicaid two entirely different programs. Well that or just echoing crap you hear from the internets without fact checking it first.

Stephan January 4, 2013 at 08:54 pm

Good luck Eric. I got a very sleazy phone call from your campaign and intend to vote against you in two years but that'll change if you are a respectable representative of your district.

Californicated1 January 5, 2013 at 02:29 am

Nothing impresses me about this punk.
He was oversold to the voters, who were also hamstrung by the lack of choices on the ballot, made worse because there really was no opposition party candidate. And now it looks like Swalwell is following Speier's lead when it comes to gettng her name out to her constituents and basically attaching her name and image to an issue. Sorry, but I am not going to congratulate Mr. Swalwell who appears to be nothing more than some self-aggrandizing politician. I can't wait until it is time for gerrymandering and hopefully Livermore will be re-districted out of this sycophant's district and into some other toxic mess that seems to be the congressional elections these days.

Nick January 5, 2013 at 03:01 am

Tim, gun control is not gun confiscation. It's sad that you support the NRA and their misguided attempts to throw guns at everyone and their mother in a false attempt to create more "safety". Countries with low gun crime rates also have restrictive gun legislation, which does not ban all guns. A simple Google search will prove it.

Crh January 5, 2013 at 03:17 pm

The good news; he is not a totally senile politician like the one he replaced. The bad news; he is jumping on the "feel good" law bandwagon for political gain. Fact: when assault weapons are made illegal only the criminals will have them. Why would anyone think that a silly hardware law would even slow down a individual bent on breaking the law anyway? If they can get illegal drugs I am sure they can get illegal weapons (they are now). WAKE UP AMERICA!!! This is a social psychological issue and "feel good" laws will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem. The politicians like to make "feel good" laws because it is the easy way to make the bulk of their constituents think that something is actually being done to address the issue. I know...lets make killing another person illegal, yeah, yeah, that's it, that will stop it for good! The last I knew murder is already illegal and people still do it despite being against the law. BTW, Mexico has tougher gun laws than we do and look where it has got them. We can start by boycotting movies made by hypocrite Hollywood actors lobbying for gun control and then appearing in box office sell-outs that glorify violence and killing and then maybe we will began to see something change.

Tim January 5, 2013 at 03:27 pm

Nick, read the article I linked to above.... you gun grabbers talk about "gun control" but you absolutely want confiscation. This is EXACTLY that the left wing fools are attempting in Illinois as we speak. Fortunately, the NRA is on it and hopefully will quash it. A ban on semi-autos IS a gun confiscation as 75% or more of all handguns are semi-automatic (basically anything other than a revolver). Sorry but my Colt .45 that has been around (literally) since 1911, over 100 years old, is NOT an "assault weapon" and should not be banned. If anything it's an antique, but it IS a single-action semi-automatic weapon. And, the NRA isn't making anyone buy a gun. It simply says to you left wing fools who hate guns not to visit your anti-gun dribble on the rest of us.

Tim January 5, 2013 at 03:30 pm

Thanks Nick, I just upgraded my NRA membership to "Life Membership" status... money well spent.

Glenn Crosby January 5, 2013 at 06:09 pm

What part of "the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" do you not understand? Look at the founders' intent. A militia is basically an infantry outfit(, although the colonial militias did have cannons). It is inconcievable that the 2nd Amendment was not intended to protect the right to keep and bear arms that are typical of an army's infantry weapons. This would go beyond protecting the right to semi-automatic weapons, and extend to the select-fire semi/fully automatic assault weapons issued to a normal infantry soldier.

Matt McCormick January 7, 2013 at 05:05 pm

If people liked the War on Drugs, they're really going to like the War on Guns.

Ken Martin January 7, 2013 at 05:28 pm

Typically, you have gotten clear off of the original subject, which was Eric Swalwell going to Congress, not gun control! Why is it so hard for Patch commentors to stay on the subject? Wandering minds, I guess!

Camaro on Cinderblocks January 7, 2013 at 05:47 pm

FBI statistics show that violent crime has gone down 50% from 1992. Facts our government media like to suppress and not mention. Fear Fear Fear Fear.......

DKL January 7, 2013 at 05:54 pm

Ken, you might have noticed that the one thing the article mentions that is on Swalwell's agenda is gun control. And the article specifically asks for readers' input on what they would like him to accomplish. I believe people are trying to make it perfectly clear that gun control is NOT one of those things.

Nick January 7, 2013 at 08:27 pm

Thanks for proving my point, Tim. You're extremely paranoid, you have no idea what I think of firearms, you idiotically jump to conclusions. Nor am I a left-winger, once again, a foolish and idiotic jump.
Do you label anyone who disagrees with you a left-winger? Is that some kind of childish insult on your part? So pathetic.

Tim January 7, 2013 at 08:36 pm

Nick, no I don't label everyone I disagree with as a "left-winger". I'm not assuming anything... I'm judging you based on your own words. In you're own statement on the NRA you label yourself as a left-wing gun grabber.... "It's sad that you support the NRA and their misguided attempts to throw guns at everyone and their mother in a false attempt to create more 'safety'." ...sounds like a left-wing, Second Amendment hater to me.

Matt McCormick January 7, 2013 at 10:32 pm

Hi Ken,
Did you read the preface to this article? "Dublin native Eric Swalwell experiences his first day as a congressman, discusses how he'll work and an assault weapons ban he plans to co-sponsor. "

Fred Eiger January 8, 2013 at 03:03 am

It's just a beautiful thing that Pete Stark is no longer in Congress.

DKL January 15, 2013 at 01:09 pm

Nick, I googled "gun control crime rates" and found the exact opposite of what you said I'd find.