AWB not bipartisan nor deterrent
30 September 2004 - Palm Springs Desert Sun

Although I supported Tom McClintock over Schwarzenegger in the recall election, the new governor has indeed done some good things. He’s on the right track with most of the recent bills he’s signed and vetoed, trying to keep the business climate in California from getting any tougher than it already is. Most of your editorial dealt with the positive changes across the face of politics that he has already made.

However, one mention in particular was very out of place: that of the expiration of the "assault weapons" ban. First, in no way was that legislation "bipartisan-constructed" - it was birthed and bred from the desks of Bill Clinton and Dianne Feinstein. Saying it was bipartisan is not just disingenuous, it’s downright wrong. Second, calling it "crime-deterrent" is just as empty of facts. Neither the DOJ, the Institute for Justice, nor the CDC have been able to come close to showing that it had any effect on crime in its 10-year life. Criminals who would have committed a crime with one of the banned weapons just committed it with something else. It was a bad law that served no purpose, and the heavy-handed mention of its sunset in an otherwise positive editorial about the governor only serves to misinform the public and exacerbate the partisanship the rest of the editorial decries.