Speech an Effort to Regain Momentum Lost in Dispute Over Assault Weapons
By Mike Allen, Washington Post Staff Writer
Vice President Cheney worked to mend White House relations with gun activists yesterday by warning a National Rifle Association convention in Pittsburgh that Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) would roll back rights of gun makers and users.
”John Kerry’s approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and regulate some more,” Cheney said.
The NRA worked enthusiastically for President Bush in 2000, but the group disagrees with his willingness to sign an extension to the 1994 ban on military-style assault weapons, which is set to expire in September.
Some of the group’s 4 million members, concerned about personal freedoms of all kinds, have also complained about the USA Patriot Act, which makes it easier for the Justice Department conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists, and oppose additional restrictions that have been imposed on air travelers since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Bush campaign is scrambling to be sure it can count on NRA muscle again this year, especially as some of the states in which hunting is most popular are also swing states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. …
Quoting selectively from past Kerry remarks about the NRA, Cheney said Bush is the only one of the two candidates who ”has shown you respect, earned your vote, and appreciates your support.” …
A Kerry campaign statement responding to Cheney’s speech said the senator ”is a lifelong hunter, supports the Second Amendment and will defend hunting rights.” … Kerry also supports closing a loophole that allows people to evade background checks by buying weapons at gun shows, and would ban the ammunition known as ”cop-killer bullets.” …
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in a telephone interview that while the group has differences with Bush, most members “still consider him a friend.” LaPierre said Kerry is ”probably the most anti-Second Amendment candidate in the country’s history,” and would ”go after every semi-automatic firearm in the country.” … The NRA estimates that the nation has 80 million hunters.
Lord knows how important semi-automatic weapons are to hunters. After we have your machine guns, we’re going to steal your granade launchers, too.
I often wonder what NRA members think of Iraq, where every male over the age of 10 owns a semi-automatic weapon. The poster child for the freedom to defend yourself from tyranny. Oh, wait, they’re hunting us. mjh