Why do Bush/Ashcroft continue anti-gun policies?

Keep and Bear Arms ^ | 28 August 2002 | Harry Schneider

[Travis McGee]

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well then, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

~~Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

The US Code containing all Federal statutes consisted in 1999 of 56,117 single spaced pages, consisting of 47 volumes taking up nine feet of shelf space. That's not counting state, county and municipal laws, going back to 30 year old nonviolent misdemeanors, any one of which may be applied to disarm a citizen.

[Redbob]

I guess a summary of the "Bean" opinion and a link to the original would have been too difficult to do?

Regarding the Bush Administration being anti-gun: who did you think we were electing, Neal Knox?
President Bush has other things on his plate in addition to gun laws; the war in Afghanistan, for example. He's not going to squander his political capital on tossing out bad gun laws.
It's the responsibility of the Congress to write, re-write, or delete laws. It's your responsibility to understand the process, and to write your Congresscritter and convince him to do the right thing.

[Travis McGee]

Usually I just scroll past the statist jack boot lickers the way I step over a dog turd on the sidewalk.

[Redbob]

Read the article again; you'll see that it's not the Bushies that are the problem.
Here, I'll quote the part you missed the first time:

"Since 1992 Congress has each year defunded the provision that allowed people to petition ATF to get their rights restored."

[Travis McGee]

If the INS was run like the BATF, every illegal alien in America would be arrested, deported, shot or burned alive in one month.

If the BATF was run like the INS, you could keep howitzers in your backyard and fire them across town morning noon and night.

(I just want a list of which laws "really count", and which laws I can ignore.)

[Travis McGee]

Here's tip for the new millieum folks. Drive a junker, keep the papers current, and claim to be an outta work junkie and you'll do fine.

Forget the papers. Claim to be an "undocumented immigrant", local police will hold you a few hours and release you when the INS tells them to.

[Recon by Fire]

"smoke 'em if you got 'em"

And if you don't have them borrow them from your buddy.

[harpseal]

You don't know what the hell you're talking about. What gun rights have you lost under Bush?Please be so kind as to inform me what usurped gun rights have been restored under the Bush adminitration.

Thank you in advance

[Nebr FAL owner]

Because the folks in Washington D.C. veiw those of us not in the govt.service as the Pratorian guard of the political class are basicly expendable peasants on a good day on a bad day we are expendable SERFS

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Big deal. This is only important if you think there is something SPECIAL about Texas. There isn't.

[45Auto]

It's your responsibility to understand the process, and to write your Congresscritter and convince him to do the right thing.

I live in a political district with Senatrixes Babs Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Pete Stark, State Assemblymen John Dutra and State Senatrix Liz Figueroa. On top of that, my governor is Dufus Davis and the AG is Bill (I Hate Your Guns) Lockyer. These people have a lock on political power. I have worked tirelessly for over ten years against these miscreants; contributed mightily to PACs and conservative (such as they are) candidates. My solution is to leave this area as soon as I retire.

[MEGoody]

Do you own any guns? What can you NOT do now that you COULD do before Bush became President? What is it you think you should be able to do that you can't do? I don't want a bunch of rhetoric about what might happen to someone. I'm talking specifically about you and how you are and have been affected.

[Shooter 2.5]

I guess if I ever want to move to Texas I need to learn the secret hand shake huh??

Here's a little tidbit that I learned accidently. I travel to a High Power Rifle Match every month that's near the Oklahoma border. We always stop at a gas station that has a snack corner that reminds me of a old country store. We're there at 8:00 AM and the ranchers are in there having coffee already after checking their stock. Right after the Lewinsky affair, I heard a 75+ year old rancher lamenting on the scandal. He mentioned that no one in his family had voted anything other than democrat since before the Civil War and he wasn't sure if he should start voting Republican. Here is an old time TEXAN. Rifle rack in the pickup truck. Probably never bought anything other than a Colt or a Winchester in his life and he's part of the Schumer, Boxer, Kennedy, and Feinstein group. Some of these old TEXANS should wake up and start smelling that coffee they've been drinking. By the way, I'm not a TEXAN. I'm AMERICAN.

[jwalsh07]

Putting a felon in jail abridges his liberty Tahiti. Executing a felon would certainly qualify as abridgng his right to life. Why do you have a problem understanding these things?

[wardaddy]

BTTT!

[jwh_Denver]

Don't talk to me about speaking volumes when you didn't answer my question. And you can stuff all that other BS you said about me.

If our elected morons continuely break the one thing they sworn in to uphold is the Constitution. Bush and most of the others in elected positions have repeatedly broke this oath. Therefore I say that anybody who knowingly goes against the Constitution is ADVANCING THE LIBERAL AGENDA.
That includes your King Bush.

[Jesse]

Bush/Ashcroft have made it quite clear that the RTKABA is an INDIVIDUAL right.

If you bothered to read the position of the RINO Bush gun rights position espoused by Ted Olson, you would know that the position of this administration is that the Second Amendment is a right, so long as the federal government can impose "reasonable restrictions" on it. Who defines reasonable? Why, whatever federal government is in power at the time. If Bush really supported the Second Amendment, pilots would be armed in the cockpits today. If Bush really supported the Second Amendment, he would refuse to sign the renewal for the Assault Weapon ban... something he has yet to sign, of course, but a law which he has promised to renew when it crosses his desk.

The Bush support of the Second Amendment is riddled with loopholes and excuses to impose more government control. But I see the water temperature is being raised to the boiling point comfortably enough for you.

When the government doesn't have enough criminals, it makes them. The people who think that all felonies are created equal are ignorant. Felonies can be created at the stroke of a pen, heedless of their intent, societal harm, or rational. Anyone who believes that they are in compliance with every law on the federal books is nuts. Hell, I had a boat sink once and the Coast Guard was there, ready to charge me with felony pollution from gasoline leaking into the water.

Those of you who think all felons should lose all rights in this day and age of federal tyranny are nuts.

[jwalsh07]

Its obvious either you haven't read my posts here or you didn't understand them. I've made myself clear. If you're interested in my position read it, or not.

[Jesse]

I read this post, on this forum. Your position seems clear enough to me.

[inquest]

Suppose felons were to be prohibited, as part of their sentence, from criticizing the government, or from attending Catholic Mass. Would that be constitutionally kosher in your view? And is the second amendment any less sacrosanct than the first?