· Border Crossing Law Firm · By Shahid Haque · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
Using pointed irony, Shahid contrasts Senator Jon Tester's support for a 90-day "amnesty" that would let veterans register battlefield machine guns with his refusal to support an earned path for young immigrants who wanted to attend college or serve in the military. The post asks which use of legalization better reflected Montana values.
The comparison targeted the political flexibility of the word "amnesty": Tester treated it as unacceptable in immigration policy while using it approvingly in firearms legislation.
Jon Tester has finally come out in support of amnesty and a path to legalization. The only problem is that he isn't referring to comprehensive immigration reform -- he is using this language to argue that military veterans should be able to keep machine-guns and other fully automatic "trophy" firearms acquired on the battlefield. Tester wants to open a 90-day "amnesty period" for veterans to register these machine-guns so they have a "viable path to comply with federal law."No, I'm not kidding. A press release that was issued today states: "It is important to protect veterans and members of our armed forces from unnecessary prosecution and give them a viable path to comply with federal law ," said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. "Those who fought to preserve our freedom should not be penalized for their desire to lawfully own firearms from the battlefield."
The press release also says: “It is critical that we give our veterans another 90-day amnesty period to comply with the law without fear of penalty,” Tester and McCain wrote. “If an amnesty is not provided, we will be further convinced that legislation is necessary in order for our veterans to register their lawfully obtained firearms.”
These statements are rich with irony because when talking about the DREAM Act or the need for immigration reform , Tester has stated repeatedly stated that he opposes any amnesty or path to comply with federal law .To keep things straight: Tester supports "amnesty" so veterans can keep fully automatic weapons such as machine-guns, but no "viable path" to citizenship for undocumented kids who came here when they were children and want to serve our country in the military.Do those sound like your values?