That didn't take long . . .

Here's the press release from the Violence Policy Center. (Hat tip: My Good Eye)

SKS assault rifles like the one reported to have been used to murder five hunters and wound three others in Wisconsin over the weekend are a primary threat to police, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reported today. So far in 2004, at least six law enforcement officers have been slain by SKSs. In the wake of the shooting, the VPC called on President George W. Bush today to use the Administration's executive authority over firearm imports to fully ban the import of all foreign-made assault rifles. . . .

Vultures.

My Good Eye adds:

I also heard a top-of-the-hour CBS Radio sound bite that said the assault weapon ban that Bush allowed to expire might have prevented this. That implication is absolute nonsense, and the VPC knows it:

"the SKS assault rifle was not covered by the recently expired 1994 federal assault weapons ban. The VPC criticized the 1994 law as inadequate and favors enactment of a tougher version of the law that would ban the SKS and many other assault weapons that easily slipped through the old law's loopholes."

The sad truth is, there is no new law that would have stopped this tragedy. . . . [I]t's ridiculous for the VPC or any other gun control lobby to use these victims for their own ends before anyone even has time to plan the funerals. It's the same thing that happened after Columbine and other school shootings--the vultures start circling before the bodies are even cold, pushing for more and more restrictions on gun ownership.

CBS News passing along a falsehood? Gun control lobbies using tragedies to further their goals? I can't believe such things happen!


UPDATE: More vultures here.