Gun ownership an individual
             right, Ashcroft writes NRA

             By Karen Gullo
             Associated Press
             May 23, 2001

             WASHINGTON -- Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft,
             responding to a question by the National Rifle
             Association, reasserted his belief that the
             Constitution guarantees people the right to own
             guns.

             "While some have argued that the 2nd
             Amendment guarantees only a `collective' right
             of the States to maintain militias, I believe the
             amendment's plain meaning and original intent
             prove otherwise," he said.

             Ashcroft reiterated his views in a letter May 17
             to James Jay Baker, the NRA's executive
             director. The NRA had written Ashcroft in
             April, asking his position on the 2nd
             Amendment.

             Gun rights advocates accused the Clinton
             administration of trying to undermine 2nd
             Amendment rights, pointing to arguments
             government lawyers made in a federal lawsuit
             against a Texas man, Timothy Joe Emerson. He
             had been indicted for violating a 1994 law
             barring people under restraining orders from
             having guns.

             Emerson argued that the 1994 law violated his
             2nd Amendment rights. A Republican-appointed
             judge agreed and dismissed the charge. In an
             appeal, the Justice Department argued that the
             2nd Amendment does not extend to an
             individual the right to keep and bear arms.

             In a letter last August, former Solicitor General
             Seth Waxman said government lawyers "did
             indeed take the position that the 2nd
             Amendment does not extend an individual right
             to keep and bear arms."

             "That position is consistent with the view of the
             Amendment taken both by the federal appellate
             courts and successive administrations," Waxman
             wrote.

             Waxman said the Supreme Court and eight
             appellate courts "have uniformly rejected
             arguments that it extends firearms rights to
             individuals independent of the collective need to
             ensure a well-regulated militia."

             In his letter to the NRA, Ashcroft took the
             opposite view, saying that in decisions dating to
             the 1890s, the Supreme Court "routinely
             indicated that the right protected by the 2nd
             Amendment applied to individuals."

             More recently, he said, the U.S. attorney general
             in 1934 adopted this view, as did Congress and
             President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

             Ashcroft would not comment in his letter on the
             Emerson case, a copy of which was obtained
             Tuesday by The Associated Press. Justice
             Department officials, speaking on condition of
             anonymity, said the department does not plan to
             make additional arguments in the case, which is
             pending before a three-judge appellate panel.

             Government lawyers would look at the panel's
             ruling before deciding whether to appeal to the
             Supreme Court, officials said, adding that
             Ashcroft thinks the 1994 law is a reasonable
             restraint on 2nd Amendment rights.

             Baker said the NRA always asks new
             administrations to state a position on the 2nd
             Amendment. He characterized his letter to
             Ashcroft as routine.

             "We always ask the new folks to give their
             opinion on what the 2nd Amendment means,"
             Baker said.

             Ashcroft's answer pleased the NRA. "It was
             clear from the campaign and from Ashcroft's
             letter that the Bush administration respects the
             individual right embodied in the 2nd
             Amendment," Baker said.

             The NRA backed President Bush during last
             year's election, spending more than $1 million
             on behalf of his campaign.

             Bush and Ashcroft advocate better enforcement
             of gun laws as opposed to adoption of new gun
             legislation. Last week the administration
             disclosed plans to mobilize federal and local
             prosecutors to focus exclusively on crimes
             involving firearms.