Yes! Yes! I can't wait until Monday. Hey Sally, are my NRA dues current? Make sure. It sure is doing a good job.

Assault Weapons Ban Ends Quietly

With a 10-year ban on assault weapons due to expire Monday, Congress is about to allow a remarkable reversal: once demonized semiautomatic weapons will again be sold to the public.

Around the nation, manufacturers now prohibited from selling the weapons are competing to reap the most out of their return. Beretta USA Corp. is offering two free large-volume magazines with the purchase of certain guns. ArmaLite Inc. is inviting gun buyers to start placing orders for rifles whose manufacture has been banned for 10 years.

Politicians who had only a few years ago responded to public pressure for controls on such weapons are keeping a cautious distance. President Bush says he supports extending the assault weapons ban, but he has not aggressively worked for legislation to extend it. John F. Kerry, his Democratic presidential opponent, voted this year to extend the ban, but the Massachusetts senator often talks about how he enjoys hunting and supports the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.

(9-10-04 Los Angles Times.)

See prior 8-09-04 post entitled: "This isn't your father and grandfather's NRA anymore -- Advice to Demo's: 'Shut the hell up.'"

Also see prior 8-08-04 post entitled: "What we have here, is a failure to communicate; what we need here are a few good men. 2 will do," that read in part:

All right W and JFK, it is time to step up to the plate. The 10-year ban on assault weapons that resulted from passage of the so-called Brady Bill under President Clinton, will expire Sept. 13.