John Ashcroft and the NRA support terrorists

That's right. Suspected terrorists are purchasing guns, and there isn't a damn thing law enforcement can do thanks to NRA lobbying that successfully stripped down the background check law. It's just one more case where the Bush administration has allowed right-wingnuts to obstruct the safety of Americans.

At least 47 people on the FBI terrorist watch list purchased guns during a nine month period in 2004 according to the Government Accountability Office. Many of these people were wanted for questioning as part of terrorism investigations into Islamic militant groups.

The FBI complains that it can't do its job effectively because the background check is too strict in its protection of the gun owner privacy. The NRA fought Congress on the ability of the FBI to use the gun database, arguing that it would amount to a registry of gun owners nationwide.

Hmm...so registering your car is an imposition on your right to privacy?

Further frustrating law enforcement officials, background check records can be destroyed after just 24 hours, allowing terrorists to cover their tracks. Moreover, John Ashcroft didn't allow the FBI to cross-check terrorist watch lists with gun-purchase records until February 2004, arguing that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms was more important.

Senator Frank Lautenberg, Democrat from New Jersey, is writing legislation that will require federal officials to keep records of guns purchased by terrorist suspects for a minimum of 10 years.

Wow, so if terrorists attack American citizens with guns, at least we'll know they bought them--or rather, would have known, if we hadn't destroyed the records, just like Dubya was told that terrorists were planning to attack us with hijacked planes, but was too busy clearing brush in Crawford to do anything about it.

That's some crack "wawr on terrah" you got there Mr. Prez'dent! I sure am glad people decided not to change horses in the middle of a war. I feel so much safer knowing you're running the country.

Eric Lichtblau, "Terror Suspects Buying Firearms, U.S. Report Finds," New York Times, 8 March 2005.