New York (FNS)-In an effort to help dispel concerns of racism, Terri Stocke, President of the Second Amendment March, agreed to coordinate with members of the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network and the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition in an effort to encourage more members of the Black community to bear arms and to carry them publicly.
In return, members of the Black community have agreed to flood the 2nd Amendment March, scheduled for April 19, 2010, in Washington, DC, with hundreds of thousands of heavily armed residents of Chicago's South Side and New York City's Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods.
"We hope that the Black community understands that 2nd Amendment rights apply to all Americans" Ms. Stocke told the crowd outside Mr. Sharpton's offices.
This afternoon, Mayor Bloomberg's office announced the results of Gun Show Undercover, an unprecedented operation aimed at exposing the "Gun Show Loophole" for what it really is; a legal but shady way for the trafficking of guns that evades a Federal law that requires background checks and the filing of ownership paperwork before and after the sale of fire arms.
The tactics used by the Mayor's office were interesting, to say the least. Agents from NYC Government traveled to three states (not New York) and used undercover cameras to catch these transactions in progress...a move that I'm sure will cause some controversy. The three were Nevada, Tennessee and Ohio
1. The timing of the release of this report comes during an important election race for the mayor...a race that polls are showing to be surprisingly close.
2. In the post Acorn secret camera wingut head explosions, I wonder if these findings, just as or even more damning in terms of Federal Law violations, will cause those very same wingnut heads to re-explode.
Whether the timing is coincidental or not, I support the mayor's efforts with this project. With tea baggers running wild and threats to our civil society being tossed about like Halloween candy, the more we can do to keep firearms out of the hands of unstable people, the better.
With guns at the forefront of a debate on the Senate floor, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand used her time to discuss why she opposed the much-talked about Thune Amendment.
The Thune Amendment, which Sen. John Thune (R-SD) tried to slip into the defense spending bill, would have allowed individuals who are licensed to carry concealed weapons to carry those same weapons in other states that allow for the possession of such weapons.
The amendment came close to passing, with 58 senators voting for the amendment, including a number of Democrats. However, the 39 senators who voted against the amendment kept it from passing. Among those 39 were both of New York's senators - Gillibrand and Sen. Chuck Schumer.
You can watch Sen. Gillibrand deliver her remarks on the Senate floor. Gillibrand also issued a statement praising the rejection of the amendment.
"Over the last several days I have been urging my colleagues to oppose this harmful measure and side in favor of law enforcement and state's rights.
"It is simply wrong for the federal government to overrule a state's ability to enact reasonable, constitutional gun laws designed to prevent criminals and other violent and dangerous persons from carrying guns in city streets.
"This legislation would have posed a serious public safety risk to New York and states around the country, and I am pleased that our colleagues have taken the right course and voted to defeat this amendment."
What this amendment intended to do, while being touted as pro-gun legislation, was very anti-state and anti-Constitution. It is one thing to provide your citizens with the right to bear arms. It is another to tell states that they must allow those who are licensed to carry concealed weapons in their state even if that particular state didn't license the individual. Keep in mind that some states gun registration rules are stricter than others. So such an amendment would have taken a lot away from the states.
Sen. Gillibrand (and Sen. Schumer) made the argument against the amendment. This amendment, despite its bi-partisan support, should not have been passed. It is good to see both of our senators on the right side of the issue.
The Albany Times Union has a lot more about Daniel James Murray, who the Secret Service (and many police agencies) is looking for after he allegedly threatened to kill President Obama while withdrawing five figures from a Utah bank last month.
According to his father, Murray is mentally ill, and has been in and out of institutions for a decade or so.
This is an Albany-area story because Murray lived in Rexford, just north of Albany, and because the TU's Tim O'Brien did some shoe-leather reporting today.
The Secret Service considers Murray's threat more aspirational than real, but still charged him formally with threatening the President.
Details from the neighborhood, and thoughts about the implications of this story, below.
(CLARIFICATION: I thought I would add this little note to make it clear why I linked to a Prison Planet post full of distortions about Sen. Gillibrand. The reason is that, if you look at the history of the right-wing blogosphere, they were once praising Gillibrand for her "A" rating from the NRA. Now, because she has evolved on this issue, she has ruffled some feathers on the right because she isn't doing what they want her to do.
There is a method to my madness here. I know what I'm doing. The reason for the link is to show that Gillibrand is doing all the right things. She must be on the right path if she is drawing the ire of conservatives for her stance on guns. That alone should be a good indicator of where she stands on guns.)
"I come from a family of hunters, and preserving this strong upstate tradition is a priority of mine in Congress," Gillibrand said. "I will continue to oppose legislation that will restrict the rights of responsible gun owners and I will continue to advocate for policies that will keep our rivers, land and air clean, so that future generations can enjoy hunting and wildlife in our region."
However, included on her gun safety page is this paragraph which probably best summarizes her current stance.
It is true that Kirsten comes from a family of hunters and believes the 2nd amendment protects the rights of responsible and eligible New Yorkers to own a gun. That is a core belief and will never change. However, ensuring hunters rights has nothing to do with reducing gun violence and making sure we keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people.
It is safe to say that Gillibrand has found the middle ground on this issue. While she still believes that hunters should be protected, she also believes that gun safety and guns that are used for criminal purposes need to be off the streets. Earlier this month, conservatives said she was set to introduce an assault weapons ban that disappointed those at the NRA who supported her last year, although such legislation has not been announced and there hasn't been a press release about any such legislation from Gillibrand's office.
You can support gun rights and gun control at the same time. It looks like Gillibrand has found that place and knows how to handle both very well.
One of the big criticisms of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as she becomes the junior U.S. senator from New York is that she is pro-gun rights. Gillibrand has received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and her pro-gun stance has already drawn criticism from Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who is a well-known gun control activist and member of Congress who lost her husband in the Long Island Railroad massacre 15 years ago. McCarthy has even threatened to primary Gillibrand in 2010 if she is indeed the one being appointed by Governor David Paterson.
But this is an issue that is very different in rural and urban areas. In rural areas, guns aren't associated with violence. Guns are associated with sport. I hail from a very rural county where hunting is a family event for some. I can remember only two murders that occurred involving a gun during my lifetime here. So in the rural areas of this state, guns aren't used for violent purposes. Guns are used for hunting and for sport.
In urban (and even suburban) areas, the issue is much different. I live an hour away from Buffalo and Rochester - two cities that have had their share of homicides involving the use of a gun. In urban areas, guns aren't associated with hunting. Instead, guns are associated with violence.
I understand where both sides are coming from because in a rural setting, this issue is a much different one than it is in the suburbs and cities.
There are some things not to like about Gillibrand's pro-gun position. Gillibrand opposes any sort of ban on the sale of semiautomatic guns or the infamous "cop-killer" bullets, according to Village Voice reporter Wayne Barrett.
What Gillibrand needs to understand is that there are people like Rep. McCarthy out there. People who have lost loved ones and friends to gun violence. There are many people like that in New York and many throughout the United States. That's why the Brady Campaign's efforts are important.
But how do we balance those efforts with protecting hunters and their right to bear arms? That is the question. Gillibrand will need to address that question if she plans on representing the interests of all New Yorkers. In cities like New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, guns are a problem, not something that is used for leisure. Gillibrand will need to understand that and be prepared to have a much more moderate position on guns going forward.
You can still support gun rights for rural people who use guns only for hunting, but you need to understand that if there is a gun in New York City or Buffalo, chances are the owner of that gun isn't using it to nab a 12-point buck.
There are only a few more days until the Democratic primary for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District, and people's mailboxes are being stuffed with mailer after mailer from candidate after candidate. But the last two from Tracey Brooks, in which her faceless cardboard men appear again in mailers pandered to targeted to women voters make blatantly false accusations about her opponent Phil Steck in relation to the issue of gun control.
The basic gist of the mailers is that, as an attorney, Phil Steck has represented illegal arms dealers, as well as that Paul Tonko and Darius Shahinfar either have a terrible record or no record on standing up to the gun lobby. The front of the mailers, one of which quotes former Albany County Sherrif Jack McNutly (the father of the current Congressman, Mike McNulty) framing Tracey as "the only one" who will stand up to the gun lobby.
But there's much more to the story that reveals that Tracey Brooks has been stuffing outright lies about her opponent in women's mailboxes below the fold...
Unlike many pro gun nuts, I actually have great respect for all ten amendments that makeup the Bill Of Rights. I feel I would be a hypocrite if I were to advocate so vociferously for the 1st and 4th amendments without defending the integrity of the 2nd as well. I'm from the south. I have been hunting. I have known guns and gun owners my entire life. I have known people who hunted for sport and I have known folks who hunt because, well, that's how they feed their family. I do not own a gun and I doubt I ever will, but I support the right for law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. I also support extensive background checks and safety and proficiency training before someone can purchase a firearm. I support waiting periods for gun purchases and I support registration of all firearms. Period. But in the end, the 2nd amendment is the 2nd amendment. Until it is repealed or interpreted differently, it is the law of the land.
That said, there is something deeply, profoundly flawed about a system that could allow this kid:
to legally obtain a firearm.
I'm also getting awfully damn tired of reading stories like this:
A 20-year-old man with a history of mental disturbance shot and killed his mother, her companion and her companion's health care aide before killing himself in a quiet Queens neighborhood yesterday, the police said.
