THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120471
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Quitting the National Rifle Association, George Bush denounced a fund-raising letter in which Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre described some federal agents as ``jackbooted government thugs . . . wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms'' wanting to attack law-abiding citizens.
In office, Bush seemed inclined to dither over a controversy, but this is his second entry within a month into a public dispute.
In mid-April, despite protests of some Virginia GOP leaders, Bush endorsed U.S. Sen. John Warner's bid for re-election next year.
Bush noted that Warner had offered the resolution authorizing the use of our armed forces to oppose Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
It was a friend supporting a friend who had aided him, and the nation, in a tremendous crisis.
And the loss of a friend stoked Bush's wrath in renouncing his longtime ties with the NRA.
He was incensed, Bush wrote, that ``even in the wake of the Oklahoma City tragedy,'' the NRA had refused to disavow the wording of its solicitation.
Among the 167 people killed when a truck bomb blew up the federal building in Oklahoma was Al Whicher, a Secret Service agent who helped guard Bush while he was in the White House.
In a May 3 letter to NRA President Thomas L. Washington, Bush said Whicher ``was no Nazi. He was a kind man, a loving parent, a man dedicated to serving his country - and serve it well he did.''
Bush also noted that in 1993 he attended the wake of Steve Willis, one of four ATF agents killed in the February 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco.
Willis, an ``honorable man, killed by weird cultists, was no Nazi,'' Bush wrote.
John Magraw, former head of the Secret Service who now leads the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, ``is one of the most principled, decent men I have ever known,'' he wrote. ``He would be the last to condone the kind of illegal behavior your ugly letter charges. The same is true for the FBI's able Louis Freeh. His integrity and honor are beyond question.''
NRA President Washington, expressing sympathy for Bush in the loss of a close friend, added, ``I am sorry that you have chosen to unequivocally condemn NRA's words without first seeking an explanation. Surely a private exchange between us might persuade you to at least reserve a final opinion until all the facts are examined.''
He asked Bush to withdraw his resignation until Congress investigates several cases of what the NRA contends is ATF abuse.
But the NRA should have observed restraint before exploiting the cases to raise money. If the alleged offenses are proven, they are of such horror as to command a call for reform by all Americans.
Meanwhile, the NRA should try not to be so ornery and contentious. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
George Bush was incensed that ``even in the wake of the Oklahoma
City tragedy,'' the NRA had refused to disavow the wording of its
solicitation.
by CNB