Kerry: Open mouth insert foot
Kerry keeps doing it to himself. He sponsors the Assault Weapons ban renewal and he may have admitted he has an “assault rifle.” CNS News:
“Responding to a question from Outdoor Life about whether he is a gun owner, and if so, what’s his favorite gun, Kerry strongly intimates he has an assault rifle, which is illegal to own both in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.”
The Kerry quote appears on Page 82 of the October issue of Outdoor Life. He told the magazine, “My favorite gun is the M-16 that saved my life and that of my crew in Vietnam. I don’t own one of those now, but one of my reminders of my service is a Communist Chinese assault rifle.”
So, Senator, what kind of rifle is it? Do you actually own it? Is it registered and legal? And you are aware that Mass. and DC have restrictions on such weapons?
Where is the rifle?
September 17th, 2004 at 8:29 am
DO YOU KNOW HE IS?
September 17th, 2004 at 8:31 am
He had it…and then he didn’t have it…so he said he liked it..but he didn’t really have it before he said he liked it…got it?
September 17th, 2004 at 11:59 am
Umm, if it’s actually from the Vietnam era, wouldn’t it have been grandfathered in?
September 17th, 2004 at 12:00 pm
Also, if it has been rendered unfireable (e.g., lead in the barrel), it would still be legal.
September 17th, 2004 at 12:03 pm
Tom, if decommissioned then yes. However, since he returned sometime after Christmas 1968 from cambodia, he would be subject to the Gun Control Act of 68, which, IIRC, prohibits importation.
September 17th, 2004 at 2:53 pm
I wonder if this rifle was a bring-back from the war. Many people were able to smuggle such items into the US. If a bring-back then it would be a full auto, a true assault rifle. If such is the case, is it registered as either a full auto or a DEWAT (decommissioned war trophy)? Where is the paperwork. Someone needs to do a FOIA request with ATF. Also, if it is Massachusetts, it would have to be registered with the state, whether it is semi- or full auto. If not registered, Kerry had violated the Massachusetts Bartley-Fox act and faces a one-year mandatory sentence. Like Uncle said, “Where is the rifle?” The same would be true if he brought that Remington a union gave him last week into Massachusetts (he does have some time to register it). Maybe someone needs to file an open records request with the Massachusetts firearms board.
September 17th, 2004 at 6:35 pm
If it’s a bringback, it could also be an SKS, given the Kerry doesn’t seem to have much of a clue about guns other than fancy shotguns.
If he keeps it at his place in Idaho, it probably doesn’t break any state laws.
September 18th, 2004 at 9:36 am
I was going to say, I bet he thinks an SKS is an assault rifle.
October 11th, 2005 at 8:24 am
[…] So, she owned a gun. Big deal. Say, I never recall one story about the Chinese assault rifle that John Kerry may or may not have owned. […]