http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/031305/loc_chad%20col001.shtml

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Gun nuts show their nuttiness

PUBLISHED: March 13, 2005

Chad Selweski
Columnist

When the smoke cleared, it seemed that our Second Amendment soldiers had spent the past couple weeks shooting themselves in the foot.
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Surely, the gun lovers out there have lost sight of the target when they start defending a person's right to carry rockets and grenades into a school and when they oppose attempts to keep high-powered weapons out of terrorists' hands.

But it appears the gun crowd has avoided a public backlash. Once again, they have dodged a bullet.

In Washington it was revealed that 58 potential gun buyers were identified last year as suspects on terrorist watch lists. But 47 of these alleged terrorists were cleared to go ahead and buy their assault weapons, high-powered rifles or whatever guns of choice.

For most Americans, this report brought a sense of outrage, a stunning example of bureaucratic incompetence. But for that slice of America known as the National Rifle Association, the report showed that things are working just fine.

The NRA, you see, has blocked attempts to use the federal watch lists to ban gun sales to terrorists. Osama's troops have Second Amendment rights, too.

Most Americans would say the NRA has gone too far. Well, in Arizona the NRA disciples went even further.

The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill that would let people carry weapons -- guns, grenades, sawed-off shotguns, rockets, even land mines -- into schools, polling places and nuclear plants.

According to the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, essentially any weapon not banned by federal law could be carried anywhere, as long as the person claimed he was trying to protect himself.

The vote wasn't even close. The bill passed the House 30-16, but it didn't become law.

The lawmaker who introduced the bill eventually shelved it when he realized its full implications. He explained that the legislation had been crafted not by him but by a group of constituents he wouldn't identify -- no doubt the NRA or some like-minded group of gun nuts.

The gun lobby doesn't win 'em all, but when you're wielding the political firepower it possesses, close enough is good enough.

After all, the NRA killed the federal law that banned the sale of military-style rapid-fire assault weapons. The NRA has blocked laws requiring locks on all stored weapons. It's because of the NRA-style worship of the Second Amendment that we have a nation where it's legal to buy armor-piercing bullets, cop-killer guns, and pistols advertised with a "fingerprint-proof finish."

We all know that these products are marketed to the criminal element. But the zealots who pray at the right-to-bear-arms altar say no federal restrictions should be allowed for any weapons.

I would suspect that most law-abiding hunters and gun owners don't agree with some of the nuttier items on the NRA agenda. Others might argue that there's a slippery slope -- you allow some limitations on gun rights and it leads to more and more.

What I worry about is this country's unending supply of psychotics. The crazies we see in the news every day are infinitely scarier if they're joining a terrorist cell or arming themselves with weapons that can kill several people with each squeeze of the trigger.

The slippery slope of NRA thinking has led to this icy cold reality:

Those on the terror watch lists are barred from flying on an airplane or boarding a cruise ship but they can buy military-style weapons like an AK-47.

A suspected terrorist that is caught can be incarcerated and tortured for years at Guantanamo -- or worse, in some Middle Eastern hell hole. But only under very limited circumstances can we prevent the al-Qaida suspects who are on the loose from buying guns. Worse yet, we can't let the FBI use the gun-buying database to track these people down. That would violate the privacy rights promised to gun owners.

Only felons, illegal immigrants and the mentally ill can be blocked from making a purchase. And the gun purchase records must be destroyed after 24 hours, eliminating any paper trail to keep tabs on well-armed Islamic fanatics.

One senator blamed these pro-gun, soft-on-terrorism policies on the "twisted allegiances" between the NRA and the Bush administration.

Put another way, the gun nuts have become the advocates for the nuts, whether those inspired by Allah or those inspired by the devil.

The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill that would let people carry weapons -- guns, grenades, sawed-off shotguns, rockets, even land mines -- into schools, polling places and nuclear plants.

what an assclown

Quoted: The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill that would let people carry weapons -- guns, grenades, sawed-off shotguns, rockets, even land mines -- into schools, polling places and nuclear plants.

umm, since when did that bill allow it into schools, and polling places?  IIRC polling places are off limits due to federal law, same with schools.

Man, guess I have to leave my land mines at home from now on.

Since when could we buy rockets, grenades, or fully automatic rifles like AK-47's?  

I cant believe how many times I've heard on the news about "machine guns".  Someone educated needs to get on a news team.

Man I just picked up this Uber Tactical land mine carrier vest last week at Wal Mart.  Now I won't be able to wear it to pick my kid up at school.  Crap....

They say that like it's a bad thing

As much as it may not make everyone happy, people on "terrorist watch lists" have not been convicted of a crime.  If we can take away people's rights because they're suspected of something and are under investigation, we may as well treat all muslims the same way.  Some muslims are black and hispanic, so can we take away their rights too?

They can call "gun nuts" all they want.  All I see if people who are trying to uphold the law protecting people who have been convicted of no crime.  Letting "terrorists" get "assault weapons" is something everyone can be against.  But when that really means depriving people of rights without due process, there are plenty of people who believe that is far worse than taking a chance on trusting people.

What is the purpose of a watch list. If we suspect someone, then fucking lock them up.

and pistols advertised with a "fingerprint-proof finish."

I don't get it. Why would I care if my fingerprints were on my gun?

What is the purpose of a watch list. If we suspect someone, then fucking lock them up.

Do the words "due process" mean anything to you?