The NRA, protecting your civil liberties

Ah. I love it. The logic is absolutely impeccable. It's okay to torture suspected terrorists. It's okay to lock them up in Guantanamo forever without right to trial or counsel. It's okay to strip them of their rights to Habeas Corpus. It's okay to wiretap everyone, just in case they might be terrorists. It's okay to read their mail, to investigate their library activities, to plant hidden TV cameras in their bedrooms. BUT, DON'T EVER EVER EVER INFRINGE THEIR CIVIL RIGHT TO OWN AN AK-47:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying firearms.

Backed by the Justice Department, the measure would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales, licenses or permits to terror suspects.

In a letter this week to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, NRA executive director Chris Cox said the bill, offered last week by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., "would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere 'suspicions' of a terrorist threat."

"As many of our friends in law enforcement have rightly pointed out, the word 'suspect' has no legal meaning, particularly when it comes to denying constitutional liberties," Cox wrote.