Bush Backs Renewing Assault Weapons Ban

Washington Post ^ | April 12, 2003 | Unknown

[Mini-14]

The Bush administration is bucking the National Rifle Association and supporting a renewal of the assault weapons ban, set to expire just before the presidential election. "The president supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told Knight Ridder.

Tossing out the ban on semiautomatic weapons is a top priority of the NRA. Bush said during his presidential campaign that he supported the ban, but it was less clear whether he would support an extension.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Bush Backs Renewing Assault Weapons Ban

Damn, I'm glad I'm not voting for him in 2004!

[Constitution Day]

Bump for tomorrow. More than a little pissed.

[FreeReign]

Damn, I'm glad I'm not voting for him in 2004!

Did you vote for him in 2000?

[lainie]

With all due respect (and I offer due respect), it does accomplish something. It accomplishes the show of precedent that the the feds can ban anything, in all the fifty states (for example a particular class of -x- (guns, drugs, etc.) for reasons as irrelevant as the way they look). For any reason they want.

And that many of the American people will swallow it whole. Present company excepted, of course.

[oldfart]

Well, not quite in Kali. Actually, it's in recently Kalifornicated Oregon.

One such NRA member runs a gun shop in Portland. He sells high-end, highly polished rifles and shotguns but nary an AK or FAL. Another, a lifetime NRA member, works at a plumbing supply store where I recently had the opportunity to cross words with him. He's an avid hunter but sees no use in so-called 'assault weapons'. He stated that he thought they should all be confiscated. When I pointed out the minor differences between his rifles and those he thought should be outlawed and then asked just who he would like to have choose which ones to toss, he shrugged his shoulders and went on to the next customer.

The questionaires sent out by the NRA are returned by the same people that take the time to post here and on a dozen or so bulletin boards related to RKBA. Just like the vast majority of Americans, the vast majority of NRA members do just what they have to do to keep getting their magazine and no more. Out of 4 million or so members, I'd be surprised if 10% returned their questionaires. If 90% of them are in favor of letting the AWB die, that's only 9% of the total membership and LaPierre & Crew will continue to do what they want, when they want and how they want.

I'm a U.S citizen and an NRA member but, just as I sometimes don't like the way our government does things, I also disagree with NRA policy.

[FreeReign]

The president supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told Knight Ridder.

Hmmmm, I've done a google search and have not been able to find a Knight Ridder byline that contains this McClellan quote. It would be nice to see the context of this quote for myself instead of letting the WP tell me what the context is.

Does anybody have the Knight Ridder byline for this quote? What reporter got this quote and where was this quote said?

[epow]

This article is a hack job intended to undermine the President's popularity with his own party

Wrongaroony, the WP got the story right for once. Sorry to say, during the presidential primary Bush said he would sign a renewal of the AW ban, and added that he would also support adding a ban on importation of grandfathered foreign made hi-cap magazines. Apparently he plans on being true to his word, something I usually regard as admirable.

But in this case I'm afraid it will cost him re-election unless congress bails him out by not voting to renew the ban. If GOP congresspeople can be made to understand that this ban could very well mean Bush loses in '04, (cards and letters time) maybe they will work a little harder to see that it never makes it to his desk.

[FirstTomato]

bumpity bump

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Yes. I've come to regret it since he signed Campaign Finance Deform...

[FreeReign]

Damn, I'm glad I'm not voting for him in 2004!

Did you vote for him in 2000?

Yes. I've come to regret it since he signed Campaign Finance Deform...

If I remember correctly, CFR was a broken campaign promise -- the semiautomatic ban is not.

[Dane]

If I remember correctly, CFR was a broken campaign promise -- the semiautomatic ban is not.

I don't think CFR was a broken campaign promise. He said that he would sign a CFR bill tha banned soft money.

Anyway in the aftermath of CFR, the demos's fundraising has been decimated by the lack of soft money. The most vile part of CFR the 60 day and 30 day ad bans will most likely be thrown out by the courts.

Like I said before CFR was one of the biggest demo's mistakes. they can whine about the lack of money, but all one has is to say is that the demo's were the biggest backers of CFR.

[lainie]

These fast rock-throwing devices are very scary. I don't know how they work!

[Polonius]

What benefit would Bush get from reviving the assault weapons ban? He'll never get the anti-gun voters, and the Democrats will just use some other issue(s) to demonize him in 2004. This makes very little sense to me...

[Nefertiti]

Bump for later... still chewing this over

Nefertiti

[lainie]

HAHAHAHAH

[lainie]

This is getting pretty absurd.

[Iconoclast2]

Two wings of the same bird of prey . . .

[backhoe]

We need to find out just how much clout we have, and this issue is a good place to start.

Exactly- I hear a lot of "I'll never vote for that SOB ( Mr. Bush ) again!" comments... what I don't see is a lot of organization of the idea that we need to stop this nonsense before it reaches the President's desk.

Does anyone recall CFR? The time to stop it was at congressional or senate level. We sure blew that one.