In the 2000 campaign, Bush, in a drive to appear “compassionate,” bucked his party and its base and said he supported the renewal of the ban on assault weapons. Of course, that was then. Now, with the ban about to expire, Bush is more concerned with the NRA’s political support than whether these dangerous weapons are on the streets, so he’s conveniently forgotten all about that pledge four years ago.
With no leadership from the White House, the law will expire this month, 10 years after Clinton signed it. The companies that manufacture the assault weapons can’t wait to boost sales and get those guns out into people’s hands again.
Gun manufacturers are gearing up for the scheduled expiration next week of a 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons and are taking orders for semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines that may soon become legal again, according to a report released yesterday.
The report by the Consumer Federation of America, which favors greater regulation of the gun industry, concludes that “assault weapons will be more lethal and less expensive” without the ban and argues that police “may be forced to adopt a more militaristic approach” as greater numbers of firearms flood the market.
Likewise, The Hill noted one manufacturer that’s preparing for a new round of demand.
Armalite, a gun manufacturer based in Illinois, instructs customers on its website: “Don’t risk a delay … prepare for possible [assault weapon ban] expiration today.”
The company has set up a program called the Armalite Post-Postban Rifle Program that lets customers order pre-ban-configuration guns for “delivery immediately upon expiration of the current law.”
The Republicans are, oddly enough, divided over this, but the party’s leaders — Bush and DeLay — are not. They’re looking to let the ban die and reap the political rewards that follow.
Whether the law stays on the books is, at this point, entirely up to the president. The Senate has already reauthorized the ban, and the House is awaiting word from Bush on how to proceed.
Many Capitol Hill aides and lawmakers say Bush will determine whether the ban is extended beyond Sept. 13. An aide to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has said privately that if Bush pushes for it, the ban will probably be reauthorized. But if he doesn’t, the chances of legislation’s passing this year are remote.
The law may be popular and effective, but Bush knows one inescapable fact:
The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) endorsement of Bush is on hold until after the ban expires.
And in the end, that matters more than anything else, including public safety.
Will there be political consequences for this? At this point, it’s hard to say. Kerry is content to be on record in support of the assault weapons ban, but is careful about pushing Bush on the gun control issue. Bush must recognize his own flip-flop on the policy, but expects the media to give him a pass unless Kerry raises a fuss.
Bush will, however, have to take some heat from one very important national constituency: police chiefs.
A week before the controversial assault-weapons ban is set to expire, law-enforcement officials are requesting a meeting with President Bush in hopes that he can exert pressure on Congress to renew the ban. But the White House has been mum on whether such a meeting is going to take place.
In a recent letter to Bush, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and other law-enforcement groups asked to meet with the president “to share our perspective on the importance of preserving the ban.” The IACP is unaware of a White House response to the request, and the administration did not return calls seeking comment.
Karl Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, late last week declined to answer directly a question from The Hill on whether the president would call to renew the ban in the next couple of weeks. Gun-control activists have pointed out repeatedly this year that Bush backed the reauthorization of the ban in 2000 but has not called on Congress to act.
Police officers generally view these assault weapons (accurately) as the kind of weapons that will undermine domestic security in a time of terrorist threats.
There is a “critical need” to extend the ban, the law-enforcement groups said in the letter. “If the law is not renewed, the firearms of choice for terrorists, drug dealers and gang members will be back on our streets. … With homeland security becoming an increasingly vital part of the daily law enforcement mission, we need to know that these assault weapons and their capacity magazines will not be back in circulation.”
So, will Bush have the courage to meet with these police chiefs, look them in the eye, and tell them he’s going to let those guns back onto the streets? I sincerely doubt it. The more likely course will be to “respectfully” tell the chiefs he doesn’t have time to talk to them while he watches the ban he pretended to support fade away.
He will, however, have plenty of time to meet with NRA leaders — as he picks up their endorsement immediately after the assault weapons are available for sale again.