Posted on 01/18/2005 12:33:16 PM PST by snowsislander
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales told the Senate on Tuesday that he supports extending the expired federal assault weapons ban.
Gonzales also said he wants Congress to get rid of a requirement that would eliminate part of the Patriot Act this year, despite complaints that it is too intrusive.
"I believe the USA PATRIOT Act has greatly improved our nation's ability to detect and prevent terrorist attacks," Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee in written answers to questions left over from his confirmation hearing.
Gonzales, who served as President Bush's lawyer during his first term, is expected to be confirmed when the Senate returns after Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20. He would be the nation's first Hispanic attorney general and replace John Ashcroft.
Democrats, including Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., pressed Gonzales for written answers to several of their questions during his daylong confirmation hearing. Those answers were delivered on Tuesday to the committee, which planned a Wednesday meeting to consider nominations.
Congress let the 10-year-old assault weapons ban expire in September. The measure outlawed 19 types of military-style assault weapons, banned certain features on firearms such as bayonet mounts, and limited ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.
Gonzales pointed out that his brother Tony is a SWAT officer in Houston.
"I worry about his safety and the types of weapons he will confront on the street," Gonzales said. "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. I, of course, support the president on this issue."
Antigun groups criticized Bush during the presidential campaign for failing to press for an extension of the ban.
Gonzales also said he supports the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the post-Sept. 11 law that expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers.
More than a dozen provisions of the law are set to expire by late October 2005 unless renewed by Congress. These include authority for judges to issue search warrants that apply nationwide, authority for FBI and criminal investigators to share information about terrorism cases, and the FBI's power to obtain records in terrorism-related cases from businesses and other entities, including libraries.
"I believe the sunsets that apply to several provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act should be repealed," Gonzales said.
Opponents have called the law intrusive and contend that letting the FBI get library records undermines civil liberties and threatens to let the government snoop into the reading habits of innocent Americans.
Gonzales says people have misunderstood what parts of the Patriot Act does. "I am unaware of abuses under the USA PATRIOT Act," he said. "For this reason, I welcome an honest and real debate."
Gonzales said he is willing to consider tempering that part of the law.
The statute says business and library records must be "sought for" a terrorism investigation. Opponents have claimed that means the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court - the secret court that approves surveillance and wiretaps for espionage and terrorism cases - had no choice about whether to grant the subpoena.
"I would be happy for the statute to be amended to state the investigators may ask the FISA court for an order requesting the production of documents 'relevant to' an ongoing foreign intelligence investigation," Gonzales said.
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Winning is really losing in MileHiLand, I take it?
Now who's sounding paranoid?
Not for lack of demagogueing. Just google assault ban and you'll get plenty of it.
This is going to be a bad mistake having this guy in the AG office. What a weenie.
My definition of demagoguery is when it works.
It didn't work.
A loser is someone who prefers losing with dignity to winning.
"An attitude like that will get you a real gun grabber come next election."
LOL! That will make Gonzales (and a number of other phonies) happy.
If Gonzales sells us out and pushes to reauthorize the AW ban, then I will not support anything he does. F him.
You're one of those people who would rather lose with your mouth running than win with your mouth shut, aren't you?
There are three branches of government.
The legislative branch passes laws.
Gonzales is not in the legislative branch.
Are you able to follow that logic?
Where did I say that? But you you were mistaken, the AWB did not go away because of any courageous consevatives standing on principal. I went away because conservatives, who were the minority, had the foresight at least slip in an escape hatch.
Yes the result was nice, even nicer when congress has simply do do nothing. But if that is your stradegy for future issues, well good luck.
Tom can't do didily if Bush uses an Executive Order to enact a new AWB.
I don't think Bush is very conservative except by comparison to someone like Kerry. No one should be
surprized by Gonzales - he's been long known to be a
liberal on most social issues. Transportation Secretary
Norman Minetta is so PC he would make alot of liberals
blush - he's even afraid to "profile" airline passengers
for Arab terrorists. The prescription drug benefit is the
largest entitlement since LBJ. The No Child Left Behind
Act was written by Ted Kennedy and is the largest boondoggle since Carter established the Ed. Dept. in
1976. The agriculture bill that he signed is 40% pork.
The fact is that Bush hasn't vetoed a single bill and
hasn't seen a spending package he doesn't like. I'm
not worried about the assault weapons bill because, as
another poster pointed out, it will NEVER pass in congress-
at least they got the message! On protecting the borders,
Bush is offering amnesty and exposing us to illegals and
potential terrorists as well as any member of al Qaeda
could wish.
Do you have any evidence that suggests that it is not sincere?
And some people thought Ashcroft was bad.
And remember this -- Bush supports him. What do you think Bush supports?
and the majority of congress won't touch this one with a ten foot gun prod. they learn their lessons slowly but they eventually get it.
You are obviously one of those people who prefers losing with your mouth running than winning with your mouth shut.
Between Asscroft -- who was good on guns but virtually nothing else...
Correction:
This guy is revealing himself to be a statist bum like his boss .
Broken friggin record. You were still wrong, I pointed it out. Deal with it.
To me, that's the point.
We are winning the debate -- the last thing we need to do with a majority in both houses and holding the executive is to give an inch to the losers in the debate.
This is where our opposition has always excelled: as soon as they took one inch, they sought a foot. We have been conditioned that we are always on the defense: well, it is time to change that dynamic, when you are on a winning roll as we are, the last thing to do is to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by conceding any items such as "Well, we support gun control if you guys send us some." It's an unnecessary tactic in this case, in my opinion.
I don't see how conceding this point will aid us in any way. There is no outcry anywhere for more gun control -- even the remnants of HCI are dying away for lack of support. They have given up trying to have marches, because they cannot find enough bodies to keep from embarrassing themselves.
Now is the time for us to speak as strongly as ever, and there is no storm that Mr. Gonzales has to shelter himself from. Giving any ammunition to the foes of liberty in this case is just plain unnecessary. We just recently had a good report from the Department of Justice about how wrong gun control is -- why should the incoming head contradict the very work from his new department?
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