The Politics of Gun Control in Action

Reuters -- yes, Reuters -- tells us:

More Smoke Than Fire as U.S. Assault Gun Ban Ends
By Michael Conlon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A 10-year-old ban on assault weapons expired across the United States on Monday with a political firefight but no apparent rush to rearm by gun fanciers....[Fancy that! I'll bet he thought every "gun fancier" would buy a dozen semi-automatic rifles and start shooting people from tall buildings.]

In Tennessee, at Nashville's Gun City USA, firearms instructor Robert Schlafly said there had been no upsurge in orders or interest, adding it may be too early to tell what will happen.

In the long run, he predicted the end of the ban will drive down prices since new inventories will appear on the market.

"To me the ban was just a way for (former President Bill) Clinton to get more votes," Schlafly said. "It's all politics. It didn't hurt the firearms industry but people were mad."...[Darn tootin'. They thought there was a Second Amendment lying around here somewhere.]

In Washington, Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry accused President Bush of choosing "powerful and well-connected friends" [like the average citizen?] over police officers and families by secretly backing the gun lobby in its opposition to a renewal of the law.

Now, he said, "when a killer walks into a gun shop, when a terrorist goes to a gun show somewhere in America, when they want to purchase an AK-47 [still illegal, try again: ED] or some other military assault weapon, they're going to hear one word: 'sure."' [And when a homeowner who wants to defend himself from criminals and terrorists goes to a gun show or gun store somewhere in America, he's going to hear one word: "Sold."]

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan called Kerry's remarks "another false attack" and said the best way to stop gun violence is to vigorously prosecute gun crime. [How true! A law has yet to deter a weapon.]