Posted on 05/01/2007 12:47:00 PM PDT by Carry_Okie
BELLEVUE, WA – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ troubling support of legislation that would allow him and future attorneys general the arbitrary power to block firearms purchases without due process is cause for him to step down as the nation’s highest ranking law enforcement officer, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
The bill, S. 1237, was introduced last week at the Justice Department’s request by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), one of the most extreme anti-gunners in Congress. Called the “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2007,” this legislation would give the Attorney General discretionary authority to deny the purchase of a firearm or the issuance of a firearm license or permit because of some vague suspicion that an American citizen may be up to no good.
“This bill,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, “raises serious concerns about how someone becomes a ‘suspected terrorist.’ Nobody has explained how one gets their name on such a list, and worse, nobody knows how to get one’s name off such a list.
“The process by which someone may appeal the Attorney General’s arbitrary denial seems weak at best,” Gottlieb suggested, “and there is a greater concern. When did we decide as a nation that it is a good idea to give a cabinet member the power to deny someone’s constitutional right simply on suspicion, without a trial or anything approaching due process?
“We’re not surprised that General Gonzales has found an agreeable sponsor in Frank Lautenberg,” Gottlieb observed. “The senator from New Jersey has never seen a restrictive gun control scheme he did not immediately embrace, and S. 1237 is loaded with red flags. It would allow an appointed bureaucrat the authority to suspend or cancel someone’s Second Amendment right without even being charged with a crime.
“Attorney General Gonzales has no business asking for that kind of power over any tenet in the Bill of Rights,” Gottlieb said. “He took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not trample it. Perhaps it is time for him to go.”
You know, AR, if this was during the Klinton administration - FReepers would be screaming bloody murder over this action!
OOPS I Forgot (/sarc)
The poor alien fools want to impeach Bush too, and he's on their side.
Javier Rodriguez, the organizer of the illegal alien amnesty marches just called for the impeachement of Bush and Cheney on CNN. Yeah, these are the voters we need...... http://maydaymovement.blogspot.com/
If this is true, he needs to go.
So Gonzalez got a democrat anti-gun maniac to bring in his request to Congress? Useless. Both of them.
Gonzales said his parents came from Mexico. He couldn’t ‘recall’ if they were illegal or not.
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=223
Is this breaking news?
You are too kind.:<)
I agree. No exceptions regardless of party affiliation.
When did we decide as a nation that it is a good idea to give a cabinet member the power to deny someone’s constitutional right simply on suspicion, without a trial or anything approaching due process?
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This is an interesting question. I don’t remember this gentleman bringing it up when the discussion was about warrantless wiretaps. I guess the higher numbered Amendment (2) takes precedence over the lower (4).
I didn't say he picks only losers. But it is a mixed bag, at best.
Not just picking the losers, sticking with them no matter what happens.
Loyalty’s a wonderful attribute, but too much of anything isn’t good.
Even if this thing could get through the both the House and Senate and be signed into law, it canNOT pass Constitutional muster.
IMHO he is acting on the behest of Bush!
One can only imagine what Hillary would do with the power to deem conservatives "terrorists." Anyone exercising their Second Amendment right to resist tyranny would qualify.
If Conservatives were to call for impeachment over this issue, imagine the consternation that would cause among the Libs...
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