[JURIST] US Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales [official White House biography; JURIST archive] told senators Tuesday that any torture by US forces would be illegal [Reuters report] and that he supported reinstating a federal assault weapons ban [AP report] that was allowed to lapse in September. Gonzales also said certain sunset provisions in the USA Patriot Act [text, PDF] should be eliminated and that the act, which he said had improved the government's ability to detect and prevent terror attacks, should be left as-is. Gonzales' statements were filed in response to Democratic legislators' requests for written answers to questions they posed during his confirmation hearing [Senate Judiciary Committee hearing website] earlier this month.