By Shannon McCaffrey Knight Ridder News Service April 12, 2003 WASHINGTON -- 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 for the NRA. President Bush said during his presidential campaign that he supported the current ban, but it was less clear whether he would support an extension. The White House comment comes just before the NRA's annual convention and as the gun debate overall shows signs of fresh life after several years of near hibernation. Republicans now control the House and the Senate and are using their newfound power to breathe life into the stalled pro-gun rights agenda. This week, they pushed through a bill in the House to give gun makers and dealers sweeping immunity from lawsuits.
I sure not one to advocate jumping ship into a sea of futility but it is cause for concern. We can only hope that the House of DeLay will not let this see the light of day in the Senate where those clubby weasels would feel obligated to offer up something for W's desk. I plan to write DeLay and my congresswoman Marsha Blackburn and do what I can to kill these germ before it multiplies.
I can tell by the title that this is another phony scare thread. Anyone who really cared about the issue would want to change the president's mind, not smear him by tying him to Clinton. That's classic Demorcat dirty trickery.