NY Press
I’m with Ashcroft
By Michelangelo Signorile
Call it a conversion if you want. And please, spare me the charges that I’ve joined "the dark side." This is a war on terror, for goodness’ sake. One is either for or against evil. I for one just cannot bear it any longer, putting civil liberties above everything else. Our lives and the lives of our children are at stake.
So, I’ve decided that Attorney General John Ashcroft is right: This is no time for constitutional purity; it is time that we give up some of our cherished civil liberties for the sake of our safety. I don’t mean anything severe, anyway–just some mild inconveniences for relatively few people. We live in a changed world. And the tragic reality of recent events warrants a new outlook.
I’m not referring to 9/11, or Saddam’s weapons arsenal. No, I’m talking about the horrible sniper shootings that have occurred across the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. And the first civil liberty that I’m ready to compromise on in this domestic war on gun terror is the right to bear arms. I’m not calling for taking away this right, mind you, so hunters need not, um, shoot me. I’m just suggesting banning the sale of, oh, say, sniper rifles and "military style" assault rifles like the one the Beltway sniper is suspected of using, as well the .223 ammunition (confirmed as having been used by the sniper) that shatters inside its target’s body, doing deadly damage. And what the hell–let’s throw in semiautomatic assault weapons, too. These may not exactly be weapons of mass destruction, but they certainly have caused mass fear and have destroyed far too many lives....
<http://www.nypress.com/15/42/news&columns/signorile.cfm>
Carl
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