Make that Michelangelo's David. As to Ashcroft, I have never seen a picture of him with a weapon, but he does belong to the extremist Gun Owners of America. I think if a person belongs to a group that calls itself "gun owners", it's fair to assume there's a good chance that the member owns gun(s). Then, too, he frightens even conservatives with his stance on guns. Hells Angels usually have motorcycles; Bakers of America probably bake, etc.:
Ashcroft's gun policy aids terrorists
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
By MARIANNE MEANS
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft's concept of how to pursue foreigners suspected of terrorism is to deny them all sorts of other civil rights but protect their privacy to buy weapons so they can shoot us.
Is this man nuts?
Did he learn his public safety priorities from comic books?
This illogical exception makes no sense in a national security agenda that basically regards due process as a frivolous legal impediment handicapping the Justice Department's campaign to root out potential evil-doers. It makes sense only if Ashcroft is instead pursuing a political agenda in which he arrogantly feels free to be selective about which civil liberties he thinks are important.
Allowing suspects to secretly buy guns but not hold confidential conversations with their lawyers seems really weird unless the policy is not about terrorism but about the political sanctity of guns.
When the FBI sought permission from its parent organization, the Justice Department, to compare the federal record of background checks on gun purchasers with the names of some 1,200 people detained as potential terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, Justice officials refused.
They claimed the department's National Instant Criminal Background Check System database was secret and could not legally be reviewed by FBI investigators to probe terrorist activity.
This decision, however, represents a sudden reversal of past Justice Department policy. Some judicial experts contend that foreigners normally do not have privacy rights unless they have earned permanent resident status, which the terrorism suspects had not.
Justice officials ruled that checking the records would violate the privacy of those foreigners who had bought guns although clearly the purpose of background checks is to discover whether the gun purchaser has a legal right to have a gun.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has written to the FBI opposing Ashcroft's policy and questioning its legal rationale. And the issue is quickly developing into one of the most controversial in the administration's anti-terror campaign.
Ashcroft testified before a Senate panel last week that "the only permissible use for the NIC system is to audit the maintenance of that system ... We did the right thing in observing what the law of the United States compels us to observe."
This dedication to a narrow, dubious interpretation of the gun laws would be more credible if Ashcroft weren't simultaneously seeking ways to suppress other civil liberty protections to pursue Justice Department investigations.
Pressed by senators to say whether he thought the law ought to be changed, Ashcroft ducked, saying he would not comment on "hypothetical" legislation.
Once again, Ashcroft was catering to the National Rifle Association. Gun rights advocates have fought background checks for years, contending that they constitute an offensive national gun registry. Ashcroft is still on their side. As a senator, he opposed all gun control laws.
Recently he said, "The text and original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protects the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms." If carried to the extreme, this attitude could interfere with federal authority to regulate gun use and perhaps even state and local authority to enforce hunting seasons.
The last time the Supreme Court took up the topic, in 1939, it ruled that the amendment had the "obvious purpose" of preserving the ability of states to organize militias, conferring a collective rather than an individual right to keep and bear arms. Through the years, federal court decisions and Justice Department policies have followed that reasoning.
Ashcroft has a history of helping criminals:
KENNEDY, SCHUMER TAKE FIRST MAJOR OVERSIGHT ACTION OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S GUN POLICIES
Senators make formal document request for all records and memos relating to Ashcroft decision to purge gun background check files after 24 hours; Introduce legislation to help law enforcement root out illegal gun trafficking and fraud
In the Senate's first major oversight action this year of federal gun crime enforcement efforts, US Senators Charles E. Schumer and Edward M. Kennedy today requested all documents and memoranda relating to the Attorney General's decision to end the practice of retaining gun buyer background check files for 90 days and to start purging them within 24 hours. The Attorney General has not satisfied concerns that his decision will not impede efforts to crack down on gun crimes.
Currently, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) gun purchase records are maintained for a limited period of time so that law enforcement authorities can review sales to ensure that sellers and purchasers are complying with the law. The DOJ plan announced last month will purge the records of what appear to be legal gun sales within 24 hours, thereby eliminating the ability of law enforcement officials to audit gun dealers and root out illegal gun trafficking and fraud.
"The Attorney General owes the American public an explanation as to why he is hindering law enforcement's ability to crack down on 'bad-apple' gun dealers who provide the bulk of guns used in crimes." Schumer said. "What's the justification for making it easier for criminals to obtain guns? How does that enhance public safety?" |
