Q Ari, a new subject. The House Republicans have apparently broken with the President over the issue of the assault weapons ban. Is reauthorizing assault weapons ban a priority enough for the President to do some of his own arm-twisting to try and get the House to allow a vote?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the President's position is clear and the President supports the reauthorization of the current assault weapons ban. We are working right now with the Congress on the issues that are on their plate, that they're focusing on right now, and then Congress, of course, is going to leave for the Memorial Day recess. I mentioned the AIDS initiative and the tax cut, the growth initiative that are pending on the floor this week. The President doesn't set the congressional calendar or schedule. We'll continue to work with the Congress, and they know the President's position.
Q Does the President believe that the bill -- excuse me, the law that's on the books right now has taken steps to alleviate crimes?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there's a study underway to determine that, and the study is still pending. The President said in the 2000 campaign that he supported the assault weapons ban because he thought it was reasonable. He stated then that he would support the reauthorization of it, and he states that again today.
Do a Thomas.loc.gov search for the applicable bill numbers. Same search criteria. McCain is in on one of them. This is my big "conservative/not conservative" litmus test. This is my line in the sand. Molon Labe.