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Bush Gives Qualified Support to Assault Weapons Ban Extension
Thursday, May 08, 2003
WASHINGTON — President Bush favors a bill introduced Thursday that would permanently ban assault weapons, but he is awaiting an administration study on how effective the current ban has been, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
The outcome of the study will not affect Bush's support for the bill introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said another Bush spokesman, Scott McClellan.
Nor will the National Rifle Association's opposition to the bill, Fleischer said.
The NRA supported Bush in the 2000 election, pouring more than $1 million into his campaign. Last year, the group's leaders took credit for putting Bush in the White House.
But their opposition to the Feinstein bill pits the group against Bush. Fleischer said Bush didn't care.
"Often, the president will agree, of course, with the National Rifle Association. On this issue, he does not," Fleischer said.
Asked whether Bush believes the 1994 law has been effective, Fleischer said, "There are indeed studies under way that will determine that, and we'll await those studies to make any final conclusions."
McClellan said the study was being conducted by the National Institutes of Justice, an arm of the Department of Justice. It wasn't clear when it will be completed.
Bush backs the bill regardless of the study's findings because he thinks the assault weapons ban is "reasonable," McClellan said.
Fleischer declined to predict whether the Feinstein measure will pass.
But Karl Rove, President Bush's senior political adviser, predicted it will fail, according to a gun-rights activist who saw Rove speak Wednesday in New Hampshire.
The activist, Sam Cohen of Concord, N.H., said in a telephone interview that Rove "said that Bush was sticking to his position, but that Congress would never pass the legislation."
Fleischer was asked about Rove's comments but neither confirmed nor denied them. A Rove spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
The Feinstein bill would also would ban the import of large-capacity ammunition clips. The 1994 law prohibited only the domestic manufacture of large clips.
Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island is the lone Republican sponsor of the bill. "We need the president's help to get the votes," Chafee said.
The Senate sponsors predicted they would get their measure through the Senate, but said the bill faced a tougher road in the House of Representatives.
"The president is going to have to say to some on the extreme, 'You're wrong.' But he's going to have to do more than say it. He's going to have to work for it," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the lead sponsor of the ban when he served in the House in 1994.
Fleischer was noncommittal about how much energy Bush will expend in getting the measure passed. "You'll be able to judge the president's actions by observing them yourselves," he said.
Feinstein addressed gun-control supporters who complained that her bill is too weak and should instead be modeled on California's assault weapons ban. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., are taking that approach in a House bill they authored.
"We'd like it to be better, but we know if we push it too far, we'll have no bill," Feinstein said.
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Bush Gives Qualified Support to Assault Weapons Ban Extension
Thursday, May 08, 2003
WASHINGTON — President Bush favors a bill introduced Thursday that would permanently ban assault weapons, but he is awaiting an administration study on how effective the current ban has been, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
The outcome of the study will not affect Bush's support for the bill introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said another Bush spokesman, Scott McClellan.
Nor will the National Rifle Association's opposition to the bill, Fleischer said.
The NRA supported Bush in the 2000 election, pouring more than $1 million into his campaign. Last year, the group's leaders took credit for putting Bush in the White House.
But their opposition to the Feinstein bill pits the group against Bush. Fleischer said Bush didn't care.
"Often, the president will agree, of course, with the National Rifle Association. On this issue, he does not," Fleischer said.
Asked whether Bush believes the 1994 law has been effective, Fleischer said, "There are indeed studies under way that will determine that, and we'll await those studies to make any final conclusions."
McClellan said the study was being conducted by the National Institutes of Justice, an arm of the Department of Justice. It wasn't clear when it will be completed.
Bush backs the bill regardless of the study's findings because he thinks the assault weapons ban is "reasonable," McClellan said.
Fleischer declined to predict whether the Feinstein measure will pass.
But Karl Rove, President Bush's senior political adviser, predicted it will fail, according to a gun-rights activist who saw Rove speak Wednesday in New Hampshire.
The activist, Sam Cohen of Concord, N.H., said in a telephone interview that Rove "said that Bush was sticking to his position, but that Congress would never pass the legislation."
Fleischer was asked about Rove's comments but neither confirmed nor denied them. A Rove spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
The Feinstein bill would also would ban the import of large-capacity ammunition clips. The 1994 law prohibited only the domestic manufacture of large clips.
Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island is the lone Republican sponsor of the bill. "We need the president's help to get the votes," Chafee said.
The Senate sponsors predicted they would get their measure through the Senate, but said the bill faced a tougher road in the House of Representatives.
"The president is going to have to say to some on the extreme, 'You're wrong.' But he's going to have to do more than say it. He's going to have to work for it," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the lead sponsor of the ban when he served in the House in 1994.
Fleischer was noncommittal about how much energy Bush will expend in getting the measure passed. "You'll be able to judge the president's actions by observing them yourselves," he said.
Feinstein addressed gun-control supporters who complained that her bill is too weak and should instead be modeled on California's assault weapons ban. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., are taking that approach in a House bill they authored.
"We'd like it to be better, but we know if we push it too far, we'll have no bill," Feinstein said.
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Terms of use. Privacy Statement. For FOXNews.com comments write to
[email protected]; For FOX News Channel comments write to
[email protected]
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2003 Standard & Poor's
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2003 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
All market data delayed 20 minutes.
It has since disappeared... but I downloaded it in it's complete form, and can readily send it to anybody who wants it. 
