As stupid as the Democrats are, I really have to wonder if they're THAT stupid. I imagine it's a taboo to discuss amongst the party rank-and-file, but most of the Democratic leadership (Biden in particular) understand what a complete disaster the last AWB was for them politically. They'll never admit it publicly, but they know that the AWB cost them heavily in Congress - losses which took them 12 years to recover from. And right now, most of the American public has an extremely negative view of Congress, which means they're already on thin ice and setting themselves up for a further disaster if they try something so risky. Even in a Congress controlled by Democrats, it's going to be hard for Feinstein or McCarthy or whoever to convince their peers to take a chance on a law that hurt the party.
And the most ridiculous thing of all about the AWB was the fact that Feinstein, Brady & co. were consistently at loss for words to explain why the ban had had almost no discernible effect on violent crime. Around the time the AWB expired, I remember even the NY Times was running pieces where they interviewed police officers who stated that the ban was useless and stupid.
On the other hand, this is the most left-wing government we've ever had in power, and right now, they have a very good excuse for re-instituting an AWB: The cartel wars in Mexico. Personally, I intend to buy every gun I've ever wanted that might be affected by a new AWB should it get passed in the next few years. At the very least, regardless of what chances the ban has of being re-implemented, at least you can use this period as an excuse to your significant other to buy more guns and mags.
