George Bush/John Kerry - Defenders of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Transcript & Video: Third Debate
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,135380,00.html

SCHIEFFER: Mr. President, new question, two minutes. You said that if Congress would vote to extend the ban on assault weapons, that you'd sign the legislation, but you did nothing to encourage the Congress to extend it. Why not?

BUSH: Actually, I made my intentions -- made my views clear. I did think we ought to extend the assault weapons ban, and was told the fact that the bill was never going to move, because Republicans and Democrats were against the assault weapon ban, people of both parties.

I believe law-abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun. I believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them.

But the best way to protect our citizens from guns is to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns. And that's why early in my administration I called the attorney general and the U.S. attorneys and said: Put together a task force all around the country to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns. And the prosecutions are up by about 68 percent -- I believe -- is the number.

Neighborhoods are safer when we crack down on people who commit crimes with guns.

To me, that's the best way to secure America.

In other words, we were terrified that if we had renewed it before the election, the NRA and the gun-owners who tossed out the politicians in 1994, and supported me in 2000 would have handed me my head on a platter- just wait until after January though. The peons should not have those types of weapons, no matter the Second Amendment says. However, I have been able to prevent pilots from being armed, thanks to Tom Ridge and TSA. Chuckle, it never ceases to amaze me that the public really thinks I care about them beyond how much money we can steal from them via their taxes and inflation!

SCHIEFFER: Senator?

KERRY: I believe it was a failure of presidential leadership not to reauthorize the assault weapons ban.

I am a hunter. I'm a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old. And I respect the Second Amendment and I will not tamper with the Second Amendment.

But I'll tell you this. I'm also a former law enforcement officer. I ran one of the largest district attorney's offices in America, one of the ten largest. I put people behind bars for the rest of their life. I've broken up organized crime. I know something about prosecuting.

And most of the law enforcement agencies in America wanted that assault weapons ban. They don't want to go into a drug bust and be facing an AK-47.

I was hunting in Iowa last year with a sheriff from one of the counties there, and he pointed to a house in back of us, and said, "See the house over? We just did a drug bust a week earlier, and the guy we arrested had an AK-47 lying on the bed right beside him."

Because of the president's decision today, law enforcement officers will walk into a place that will be more dangerous. Terrorists can now come into America and go to a gun show and, without even a background check, buy an assault weapon today.

And that's what Osama bin Laden's handbook said, because we captured it in Afghanistan. It encouraged them to do it.

So I believe America's less safe.

If Tom DeLay or someone in the House said to me, "Sorry, we don't have the votes," I'd have said, "Then we're going to have a fight."

And I'd have taken it out to the country and I'd have had every law enforcement officer in the country visit those congressmen. We'd have won what Bill Clinton won.

In other words, I am to stupid to even know my job, which is to get a bill through Senate, agreed upon with the House of Representatives and then sent to the President to sign so it becomes a law- no matter if it is un-Constitutional or not. If I am elected, I will just mandate, as the Elder Bush did with weapons that made us both squeamish.

Yes, I am a life long hunter, just look at the pictures of me standing tall with that rifle, I mean shotgun, I mean the gun I wanted to ban and was given to me illegally, but not given to me.

I was a Law Enforcement Ossifer and all of the Chiefs of Police want to see these guns banned too. Of course they are beholden to politicians for their jobs so they better back me- just don't ask most line cops and their organization, the Fraternal Order of Police, who don't. I will take care of them later.

A pox on both of your houses, you lying weasely bastards!

--WP