What Happened to the Assault Weapon Ban?

It seems the NRA is getting in the way of it, and they're also opposing other reasonable gun control policies. The NRA is known to be one of the most powerful lobbies in America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27Carter.html?th&emc=th

This NYT op-ed was written by the one and only Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States of America and 2002 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

While most Americans believe in the right to own weapons, most also believe in "modest restraints like background checks, mandatory registration and brief waiting periods before purchase." Most Americans also favor a ban on assault weapons.

Some statistics on gun violence; "In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 30,000 people died from firearms, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all injury deaths. In 2005, every nine hours a child or teenager in the United States was killed in a firearm-related accident or suicide."

The NRA is the main foe in this battle to secure an assault weapons ban. The NRA is even "defending criminals’ access to assault weapons and use of ammunition that can penetrate protective clothing worn by police officers on duty."

By the way, don't fuck with J. Carter. As he says, "I have used weapons since I was big enough to carry one, and now own two handguns, four shotguns and three rifles, two with scopes."