Six Assists to the Republican Congress and the President By allowing the Assault Weapons ban to expire on their watch, President Bush and the Republican congress are culpable for the deaths of several hunters in Wisconsin. Thanks to their leadership, our country is now flooded with cheap Chinese semiautomatics that sell for a fraction of the price of a Winchester bolt-action automatic. Sure, Vang could have killed a few of them with a rifle, but it would've take more time and skill...I'm sure the framers of the constitution had deerhunting with semiautomatic weapons in mind while crafting the second amendment. Thanks, NRA! Sawyer County Sheriff James Meier said Vang was "extremely calm" at the time of his arrest and had been "showing some cooperation" with authorities. The 20-round clip of his rifle, an inexpensive Chinese-made SKS assault weapon, was empty when he was arrested. The SKS is a precursor of the AK-47 assault rifle. Though it has a longer barrel, it otherwise looks much like the AK-47. It has become popular in the United States among gun collectors, target shooters and some criminals, because it sells for less than $200, or more than $100 less than an AK-47, said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun control group. By executive order, President Bill Clinton barred the importing of Chinese- and Russian-made SKS rifles. But the Bush administration, Ms. Rand said, has specifically authorized the importing of SKS's from Yugoslavia and Albania. Read the NYT article: