That's not my recollection of it. Bush said very passively that he would sign one if it reached his desk. I never heard him encourage ANYBODY to pass one, despite the fact that Congressional leadership at the time stated that there was no chance whatever that such a bill would see the light of day.
If you can document Bush asking for such a bill, I would like to hear of it.
“That’s not my recollection of it. Bush said very passively that he would sign one if it reached his desk. I never heard him encourage ANYBODY to pass one”
You are splitting hairs. Perhaps he didn’t beg, but he wasn’t “passive” either.
From http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=14363&SC=8&EC=47
“The president supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
He also appoints fairly anti-RKBA AGs. From GOA Alert archived at http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?p=118168
“The president has made it clear that he stands ready to sign a reauthorization of the federal assault weapons ban if it is sent to him by Congress,” Gonzales said. “I, of course, support the president on this issue.”
Gonzales even spouts the HCI rhetoric:
‘He spoke of his brother, who is a Houston SWAT officer, and said, “I worry about his safety and the types of weapons he will confront on the street.” ‘
On Emerson and Ashcroft,
“While the Supremes refused to hear the case, gun owners did not fail notice that General Ashcroft was in full support of how the Emerson case was ultimately decided — thus, putting him in total support of the federal gun restrictions.
Not only that, but the Ashcroft-led Justice Department also opposed gun owners in the Silveira semi-auto ban case and the Lamar Bean case.”
Here is a good summary of the AWB from 2004. It is definitely worth reading:
http://www.wmsa.net/news/CNSNews/cns042008_repubs_divided_on_awb.htm
‘In a clash with pro-gun Republicans, President Bush has publicly supported the ban on so-called “assault weapons” dating back to his 2000 presidential campaign. Although he hasn’t actively pushed for an extension of the 1994 law, his spokesmen consistently reaffirm his support for it.’
He may not have bullied any congressmen into voting for it, but as standardbearer of the Republican Party he has no business supporting anti-gun legislation or administrative actions. Granted, he was much better than X42. That still isn’t saying alot. You may give him a pass but I most certainly do not.