Bush Honors 9/11 by Putting Assault Weapons Back onto American Streets

Commentary September 14, 2004: Going against the wishes of 70 percent of the American public, Bush allowed - indeed encouraged - a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons to expire this week, allowing Americans and resident terrorists to purchase AK-47s and Uzis at their local gun stores. The move also coincides with the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America.

In so doing, Bush effectively overturned the cornerstone of the US gun-control movement, the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban that was signed by President Bill Clinton after a series of shootings in US schools and fast food restaurants.

The move added to the mountain of evidence that Bush is out of touch with the American public, and out of touch with reality. The only thing he evidently is in touch with are his rich friends at the National Rifle Association (NRA) who are bankrolling his campaign.

As expected, John Kerry, with newfound cojones, slammed Bush for letting the ban expire. Kerry said Bush had chosen "his powerful and well-connected friends" in a secret deal with the gun lobby over the police officers and families he promised to protect.

"Ten years ago today, with the leadership of police officers all over the country, we passed a tough crime bill to protect America," the Massachusetts senator said.

"We made sure, in a tough fight, that criminals couldn’t get their hands on military assault weapons, and we put 100,000 cops into our nation’s communities where they could make an impact and stop crimes," he said.

Citing the 9/11 commission and other reports, Kerry said that al Qaeda had issued a manual that urged followers to "come to America and buy assault weapons."

Kerry also criticized Bush for proposing cuts to the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program that the senator helped pass 10 years ago. The program provides grants to state and local agencies to hire police officers. Bush proposed cutting it from $482 million to $97 million next year.

"When his powerful and well-connected friends asked for a massive tax cut, he said ’sure’ and he’s paid for it by gutting the COPS program, slashing gang prevention and cutting enforcement programs that keep drugs like meth off the streets," Reuters quoted Kerry as saying.

"Why is George Bush making the job of terrorists easier and making the job for America’s police officers harder?" he asked in a separate written statement.

Under a 10-year prohibition enacted in 1994, certain powerful military-style assault weapons were outlawed, as were high-capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The law expired at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

Sarah Brady, a gun control activist whose husband, Jim Brady, was badly wounded in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981 said Mr Bush had shown "absolutely no leadership" on the issue, adding that allowing the ban to lapse was "purely political.”

Reuters said the expiration of the ban was a victory for the politically powerful NRA gun lobby, which had made it a top priority.

Despite the fact that opinion polls show 70 percent of Americans favor renewing the ban on assault weapons, many lawmakers were afraid to cross the NRA weeks before congressional elections, according to the article.

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