Assault Weapon Ban
Bush says he's good on terror. Why isn't he leaping all over his "good on terror" party, twisting arms right and left, forcing them to renew the assault weapon ban? Why can't he show an ounce of leadership for once in his dreary life? Why is he letting the NRA, whose only purpose is to make lots and lots of money for gun manufacturers, walk all over his own party against the wishes of most Americans, and certainly most women -- let's not forget "W" is supposed to stand for "women" -- there was an op/ed in the NYT about this today.

Maybe it's only window dressing. Maybe if people really want to get guns they will (the cynicist's argument). Sure, and if people want to drive drunk, they're going to drive drunk, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a law against it.

So what if the assault weapon ban is mostly symbolic. If the "symbolism" keeps one terrorist (remember, they're already in our midst, if you believe Tom Ridge's color schemes) from walking into a gun shop and coming out with an automatic weapon, rounds and rounds of ammo, and taking out a school, it's worth the "symbolism."

It seems so obvious to me. These are not hunting rifles, or even handguns someone might think they want for protection. These are meant to be used to kill as many people as possible in as short a time as possible.

It will expire at midnite tomorrow unless Congress gets a spine. Just saw a feature on the late news tonight (ABC in Chicago) that gun "enthusiasts" are already standing in line, pre-ordering these penis-extenders. I started yelling at the TV, which just looked at me like I was a nut, so decided to come here and yell at you all.

Call the reps, email, fax them, whatever. And don't vote for one of these wimps, starting with George "Wimp" Bush.

UPDATE:

Kerry Chides Bush on Assault Weapons Ban

"George Bush (news - web sites) made a choice today. He chose his powerful friends in the gun lobby over the police officers and the families he promised to protect," the Democratic presidential candidate said a few hours after the end of a decade-old ban on 19 types of military-style weapons.

Why is everyone so afraid of the NRA, anyway? Is it just because they're the ones with the guns? Or is it money? Haven't we proven we can raise money for progressive, liberal causes without NRA money?

I don't understand how every other right in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence has been reinterpreted and redefined in the past 200 years, and that the appalling Patriot Act has done things to basic freedoms, like right to assembly and free speech, that would make the Founders spin in their graves far more than regulating the sale of arms. But apparently everyone on both sides of the aisle are wimps this year. They claim that this one issue lost Gore votes. I doubt it. Republicans stealing the election lost Gore votes.

So there you go. On to the next battle.


- posted by Cynthia @ 10:06 PM | | | Link |