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Kerry Tells Bush to 'Get Real' on Assault Weapons
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By Patricia Wilson
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) on Friday said President Bush (news - web sites)'s failure to fight for a renewal of a ban on assault weapons will make it easier for terrorists to get the lethal weapons.
Campaigning in Missouri, where he trails Bush in opinion polls less than two months before the Nov. 2 election, Kerry said as a hunter and outdoorsman he vowed he would never try to change the Second Amendment to the Constitution giving Americans the right to bear arms.
Under a 10-year ban enacted in 1994, weapons such as AK-47s, TEC-9s, and Uzis were outlawed, as were high capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. That law expires on Monday and Congress does not plan to extend it.
Kerry rebuked Bush and others for "talking about the war on terror, trying to scare Americans." Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said this week that if the Democrat were elected the United States could be hit by another attack like the on one Sept. 11, 2001.
"It's real, we've got a war," Kerry said. "But we should do more than just talk about it and try to scare people about it and make it a political issue."
Citing the 9/11 commission and other reports, Kerry said that al Qaeda, blamed for the attacks on America three years ago, had issued a manual that urged followers to "come to America and buy assault weapons."
"Why is George Bush (news - web sites) making the job of terrorists easier and making the job for America's police officers harder?" he asked in a separate written statement.
The Massachusetts senator told a town hall meeting in St. Louis: "You can't fight a war on terror and you can't make our streets safe ... (by) selling assault weapons in the streets of America.
"But George Bush who says 'Oh, I'm for that' never asked the Congress to pass it, never pushed the Congress to pass it, never stood up, caves into the NRA (National Rifle Association), gives into the special interests and America's streets will not be as safe because of the choice George Bush is making."
TRIES APPEAL TO GUNOWNERS
Kerry, a New England blueblood who served 20 years in the Senate after two decorated tours in the Vietnam War, has tried to appeal to the more conservative voters in important battleground states by presenting himself as a lifelong outdoorsman.
In the past week, he has been photographed trap shooting in Ohio and holding a gun given to him by a supporter at a rally in Racine, West Virginia.
"I mean, heavens to Betsy folks, we've had that law on the books for the last 10 years and there's not a gun owner in America who can stand up and say they tried to take my guns away," Kerry said. "I mean, let's get real. Let's get real."
He told several hundred supporters of his pheasant hunting trip in Iowa earlier this year when he was trailing in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"I am a hunter and I'm a gun owner and I have hunted since I was about a teenager and I respect it ... and I believe in the Second Amendment," he said. "And I'll tell you this, as a hunter, I've never ever thought about going hunting with an AK-47 or an Uzi or anything else. Never."
Bush has said he would sign an extension of the assault weapons ban but he did not press for its renewal by the Congress. The politically powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby has made killing it a top priority, and some lawmakers are fearful of crossing the NRA weeks before congressional elections. Polls show a majority of Americans support renewing the ban.
The NRA has not yet formally endorsed Bush's re-election bid. A Kerry aide said the senator had never been a member of the NRA because he did not agree with its policies.
Kerry Tells Bush to 'Get Real' on Assault Weapons
38 minutes ago Add Politics to My Yahoo!
By Patricia Wilson
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) on Friday said President Bush (news - web sites)'s failure to fight for a renewal of a ban on assault weapons will make it easier for terrorists to get the lethal weapons.
Campaigning in Missouri, where he trails Bush in opinion polls less than two months before the Nov. 2 election, Kerry said as a hunter and outdoorsman he vowed he would never try to change the Second Amendment to the Constitution giving Americans the right to bear arms.
Under a 10-year ban enacted in 1994, weapons such as AK-47s, TEC-9s, and Uzis were outlawed, as were high capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. That law expires on Monday and Congress does not plan to extend it.
Kerry rebuked Bush and others for "talking about the war on terror, trying to scare Americans." Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said this week that if the Democrat were elected the United States could be hit by another attack like the on one Sept. 11, 2001.
"It's real, we've got a war," Kerry said. "But we should do more than just talk about it and try to scare people about it and make it a political issue."
Citing the 9/11 commission and other reports, Kerry said that al Qaeda, blamed for the attacks on America three years ago, had issued a manual that urged followers to "come to America and buy assault weapons."
"Why is George Bush (news - web sites) making the job of terrorists easier and making the job for America's police officers harder?" he asked in a separate written statement.
The Massachusetts senator told a town hall meeting in St. Louis: "You can't fight a war on terror and you can't make our streets safe ... (by) selling assault weapons in the streets of America.
"But George Bush who says 'Oh, I'm for that' never asked the Congress to pass it, never pushed the Congress to pass it, never stood up, caves into the NRA (National Rifle Association), gives into the special interests and America's streets will not be as safe because of the choice George Bush is making."
TRIES APPEAL TO GUNOWNERS
Kerry, a New England blueblood who served 20 years in the Senate after two decorated tours in the Vietnam War, has tried to appeal to the more conservative voters in important battleground states by presenting himself as a lifelong outdoorsman.
In the past week, he has been photographed trap shooting in Ohio and holding a gun given to him by a supporter at a rally in Racine, West Virginia.
"I mean, heavens to Betsy folks, we've had that law on the books for the last 10 years and there's not a gun owner in America who can stand up and say they tried to take my guns away," Kerry said. "I mean, let's get real. Let's get real."
He told several hundred supporters of his pheasant hunting trip in Iowa earlier this year when he was trailing in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"I am a hunter and I'm a gun owner and I have hunted since I was about a teenager and I respect it ... and I believe in the Second Amendment," he said. "And I'll tell you this, as a hunter, I've never ever thought about going hunting with an AK-47 or an Uzi or anything else. Never."
Bush has said he would sign an extension of the assault weapons ban but he did not press for its renewal by the Congress. The politically powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby has made killing it a top priority, and some lawmakers are fearful of crossing the NRA weeks before congressional elections. Polls show a majority of Americans support renewing the ban.
The NRA has not yet formally endorsed Bush's re-election bid. A Kerry aide said the senator had never been a member of the NRA because he did not agree with its policies.
