Only 10 more days to go.....





Gun makers get ready for big demand
By Bob Cusack

Confident that Republicans will not extend the assault-weapons ban, gun manufacturers are gearing up to meet a big anticipated demand for the weapons later this month.

The 10-year ban, unless reauthorized by Congress, will expire Sept. 13. In 2000, President Bush endorsed an extension of the ban, dismaying many gun-rights activists.

The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) endorsement of Bush is on hold until after the ban expires.

Gun makers say they will be ready for an expected crush of demand, pointing out that many of their customers will be celebrating on Sept. 14. The sale of assault weapons to law enforcement and military officials is legal. Production of parts has been stepped up in anticipation of the ban’s expiration.

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.” Customers are allowed to order but must wait until after Sept. 14 for shipment.

If the ban is reauthorized after Sept. 14, Armalite says, the customer is responsible “for disposing of the rifle properly.”

In its recently manufactured rifles, Armalite designed its guns so that they could be altered to become assault weapons.

Randy Luth, president of the gun maker DPMS, said his customers are asking about the sunsetting ban.

“There is interest,” Luth said. “If you have something the government bans, people want them more.”

Luth said he is being more cautious than some of his competitors, not wanting to increase production and inventory too much in case the ban is extended at the last minute.

However, Luth noted that senior Democrats have been surprisingly “silent” on gun control this election year.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) earlier this year voted to extend the ban, but has pointed out repeatedly that he supports the Second Amendment and that he is an avid hunter.

In his recent book, President Bill Clinton wrote that the passage of the gun ban was a major contributing factor in the GOP takeover of Congress in 1994. The NRA subsequently highlighted those passages in newspaper ads.

Tom Spithaler, sales and marketing director for Olympic Arms, said his company doesn’t have to change anything in production because it does all its manufacturing onsite. Because his competitors subcontract their production, they had to make the decision weeks ago about whether to order assault-weapon parts, he said.

Spithaler added that parts to convert a rifle into an assault weapon are “inexpensive to make,” consisting of “cosmetic features.”

Republicans are divided on this issue. Some high-profile Republicans who have spoken at the convention, including Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, want the ban to be extended.

But congressional leaders, such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), adamantly oppose reauthorizing what the NRA calls the Clinton gun ban.

Blaine Rummel of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has lambasted the administration for failing to follow through on its promise to extend the ban,

In a mock memo purportedly sent from top Bush adviser Karl Rove to the Bush media team, Rummel writes, “So now we gotta explain why a prominent position supported by the leader of the Republican Party [isn’t] in the Republican Party platform. And since we’re trying to play up that while ‘Bush means what he says, blah, blah, blah’ angle, let’s hope no one notices!”

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued a release saying Bush “won’t raise a finger to save the law.” It added that dozens of police chiefs will travel to Washington and urge Bush to renew the ban next week.

Link]www.thehill.com/news/090204/gun.aspx]Link

Well sheeee-itt, we ain't got nuting to werry 'bout.

Quoted: Gun makers get ready for big demand By Bob Cusack Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has pointed out repeatedly that he supports the Second Amendment and that he is an avid hunter.

Tom Spithaler, sales and marketing director for Olympic Arms, said his company doesn’t have to change anything in production because it does all its manufacturing onsite. Because his competitors subcontract their production, they had to make the decision weeks ago about whether to order assault-weapon parts, he said.

This must be why they have such high quality and consistancy!  

Spithaler added that parts to convert a rifle into an assault weapon are “inexpensive to make,” consisting of “cosmetic features."

Yeah!  When you use the shittiest raw materials available and have NO specifications that you adhere to.  You too can make shit for cheap.  What a LOSER!

About time something happens that's good for the economy....

Get ready? Crap, most are behind as it is!