Who is the clown?

Projection?

Conn. Gov. Malloy says NRS’s Wayne LaPierre reminds him of “clowns at the circus”

NY Post: Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy harshly criticized gun industry lobbyists on Sunday, saying they are doing too little to halt gun violence.

Just three days after he signed into law new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity magazines, the governor compared Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, to clowns and said lobbyists want to ensure that the industry can sell guns indiscriminately.

“Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus,” Malloy said of LaPierre on CNN’s “State of the Union.” ”They get the most attention and that’s what he’s paid to do.“

Representatives of the NRA did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

“What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible even if they’re deranged, even if they’re mentally ill, even if they have a criminal background,” Malloy said. “They don’t care. They want to sell guns.”

Robert Crook, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen, a lobbying group, said Malloy’s criticism was “absolutely false.” “It’s another political statement from a governor with little knowledge,” he said.

Connecticut’s gun industry supports a gun trafficking task force and tighter background checks of buyers, Crook said.

A spokesman for Malloy said the governor was criticizing lobbyists, not the gun industry. Malloy has said he wants Connecticut’s large gun industry to remain in the state, though gun manufacturers say the new restrictions will hurt their business. “People are welcome to stay in our state as long as they’re producing a product that can be sold in the United States legally,” Malloy said.

Nearly four months after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, lawmakers and Malloy enacted legislation that adds more than 100 firearms to the state’s assault weapons ban. It also immediately bans the sale of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. People who purchased those guns and magazines before midnight Wednesday will be allowed to keep them if they’re registered with the state police before Jan. 1.

Required background checks for private gun sales also take effect.

Other parts of the new law include a ban on armor-piercing bullets, establishment of a deadly weapon offender registry, expansion of circumstances when a person’s mental health history disqualifies them from holding a gun permit, mandatory reporting of voluntary hospital commitments, doubled penalties for gun trafficking and other firearms violations, and $1 million to fund the statewide firearms trafficking task force.

Malloy said he preferred an “all-out ban” on magazines of more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but the legislature opposed him on the issue.

I’m a member of the NRA and have never received anything from them indicating they want to sell guns to those that shouldn’t have them. They want you to be a responsible gun owner. And a trained one – they sent me a DVD on home defense tips.

Just more hyperbole from a gun control advocate.

DCG

Typical liberal, shift the blame…

Good little proggie…

David Axelrod blames the NRA for Chicago’s gun violence issues

Daily Caller: On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” former Obama advisor David  Axelrod said that Chicago’s problems with gun violence would be greatly improved  if tougher gun control laws were passed at the federal level.

Axelrod cited a CBS poll from last week that showed some  deterioration in the public’s support for stricter gun laws, but noted a portion of the poll that showed strong support for universal background checks.

“I’ll tell you what I find remarkable, and not just that 90 percent, including 86 percent of Republicans support background checks. But now they’re  going after the trafficking laws — 86 percent of Americans support the  background checks, expanded background checks. And more than 90 percent, 86 percent of Republicans.”

“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough was astonished by the week-old statistic.  But Axelrod went on to argue that it was lobbying efforts from the NRA  responsible for “young lives in places like Chicago.”

“I just want to say this — I come from the city of Chicago,” Axelrod said.  “We know we have had a violence problem there. A lot of it has to do with straw  buyers arming street gangs. There is no doubt and every law enforcement person will tell you that stronger trafficking laws combined with universal background checks would make a real difference.”

“People are afraid of the NRA and trading their jobs for young lives in places like Chicago,” he continued. “And it is a terrible blight. You know,  hopefully people will step up and do the right thing. It is extraordinary to  have all the country on one side and the Congress on the other.”

Chicago already has some of the strictest gun control laws yet it does nothing to stop gun violence and gangs. But that doesn’t matter to Axelrod. Typical liberal, push for more control when existing controls don’t work. And blame someone else when the controls don’t work.

DCG

 

Michael Moore wants pics of dead Sandy Hook victims published

He’s on a rant again. I’ve excerpted from his lengthy tirade, read the whole thing here.

America, You Must Not Look Away (How to Finish Off the NRA)

HuffPo: And that is why you never see a picture any more of the kind of death and destruction that might make you get up off your couch and run out of the house screaming bloody murder at those responsible for these atrocities.

That is why now, after the children’s massacre in Newtown, the absolute last thing the National Rifle Association wants out there in the public domain is ANY images of what happened that tragic day.

But I have a prediction. I believe someone in Newtown, Connecticut – a grieving parent, an upset law enforcement officer, a citizen who has seen enough of this carnage in our country – somebody, someday soon, is going to leak the crime scene photos of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. And when the American people see what bullets from an assault rifle fired at close range do to a little child’s body, that’s the day the jig will be up for the NRA. It will be the day the debate on gun control will come to an end. There will be nothing left to argue over. It will just be over. And every sane American will demand action.

Of course, there will be a sanctimonious hue and cry from the pundits who will decry the publication of these gruesome pictures. Those who do publish or post them will be called “shameful” and “disgraceful” and “sick.” How could a media outlet be so insensitive to the families of the dead children! Someone will then start a boycott of the magazine or website that publishes them.

But this will be a false outrage. Because the real truth is this: We do not want to be confronted with what the actual results of a violent society looks like. Of what a society that starts illegal wars, that executes criminals (or supposed criminals), that strikes or beats one of its women every 15 seconds, and shoots 30 of its own citizens every single day looks like. Oh, no, please – DO NOT MAKE US LOOK AT THAT!

Because if we were to seriously look at the 20 slaughtered children – I mean really look at them, with their bodies blown apart, many of them so unrecognizable the only way their parents could identify them was by the clothes they were wearing – what would be our excuse not to act? Now. Right now. This very instant! How on earth could anyone not spring into action the very next moment after seeing the bullet-riddled bodies of these little boys and girls?

Most of us continue to say we “support the Second Amendment” as if it were written by God (or we’re just afraid of being seen as anti-American). But this amendment was written by the same white men who thought a Negro was only 3/5 human. We’ve done nothing to revise or repeal this – and that makes us responsible, and that is why we must look at the pictures of the 20 dead children laying with what’s left of their bodies on the classroom floor in Newtown, Connecticut.

And while you’re looking at the heinous photographs, try saying those words out loud: “I support the Second Amendment!” Something, I’m guessing, won’t feel right.

Pack your bags, NRA – you’re about to be shown the door. Because we refuse to let another child die in this manner. Got it? I hope so.

All you can do now is hope no one releases those photos.

———————————————————————————————–

This man makes me sick. Just think of the deaths that could have been prevented had a school official been armed.

DCG

NY gun owners plan mass civil disobedience

After years of mass shooting incidents, it took the murder of 20 white school children in a prosperous town — the 5th safest city in America — in a non-crime ridden state to finally jump start the Left’s gun-control agenda into overdrive.

A month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the first major legislative action in response to the massacre and the toughest gun control law in the nation. Called the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, the main provisions of the law include:

• Bans possession of any high-capacity magazines regardless of when they were made or sold.
• Requires ammunition dealers to do background checks, similar to those for gun buyers.
• Requires New Yorkers who own assault weapons to register their guns with the state.
• Requires any therapist who believes a mental health patient made a credible threat of harming others to report the threat to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.
• Tightens the state’s description of an “assault” weapon to just one “military rifle” feature.
• Requires background checks for all gun sales, including by private dealers.

A week later, the state’s assault-rifle owners are organizing a mass boycott of the new law, which promises to be the largest act of civil disobedience in New York state history.

Fredric U. Dicker reports for the New York Post, Jan. 21, 2013, that Brian Olesen, president of the American Shooters Supply, one of the largest gun dealers in the state, said “I’ve heard from hundreds of people that they’re prepared to defy the law, and that number will be magnified by the thousands, by the tens of thousands, when the registration deadline comes.’’

Leaders of some of the state’s 300 gun clubs, gun dealers and Second Amendment organizations are organizing the boycott — and the heaviest interest is in Suffolk County, the Capital District and the Buffalo region, sources said.

Officials estimate at least 1 million semiautomatic rifles are owned in the state. And come April 15, 2014 — when Cuomo is expected to be running for re-election — they all have to be registered with the State Police.

But authorities don’t know who has them or where they are located because the rifles have been legal but unregistered until now.

State officials will be nervously watching the registration figures to see how many gun owners comply, sources said.

“Many of these assault-rifle owners aren’t going to register; we realize that,’’ said a Cuomo-administration source who added that officials expect “widespread violations’’ of the new law. Owners who refuse to register could face a class-A misdemeanor — punishable by up to a year in prison. The unregistered weapon could also be confiscated, which could be worth several thousands of dollars.

National Rifle Association President David Keene told The Post yesterday that he wasn’t surprised by the planned boycott: “While we don’t get involved in campaigns to resist the law, I will say this: Historic experience here and in Canada shows that when you try to force gun owners into a registration and licensing system, there’s usually mass opposition and mass noncompliance. I think it’s going to be very difficult for the governor to get mass compliance with this new law.”

The organizers point to a little-known guarantee of gun ownership contained in New York’s own “Civil Rights Law,” which was ratified the same year as the U.S. Constitution. The state statute says the right to keep and bear arms “cannot be infringed” — words that are stronger than the Second Amendment, which says it “shall not be infringed.’’

“They’re saying, ‘F— the governor! F— Cuomo! We’re not going to register our guns,’ and I think they’re serious. People are not going to do it. People are going to resist,’’ said State Rifle and Pistol Association President Tom King, a member of the NRA board of directors. “They’re taking one of our guaranteed civil rights, and they’re taking it away.’’

~Eowyn

Letter from a resident of Newtown, CT

The letter below was published on Jan. 10, 2013, in The Newtown Bee, the local paper of Newtown, CT, where the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre occurred.

It is also now confirmed — SURPRISE! [snark] — that government officials (including Congress, of course), law enforcement and retired law enforcement personnel are exempted from Sen. Diane Feinstein’s assault weapons gun ban bill, by far the most ambitious of the number of gun-control bills introduced in the wake of the massacre.

H/t my friend Nancy

~Eowyn

The school these police officers were running into is not Sandy Hook Elementary School. Aren’t you at all curious why CNN would do that? See “CNN deception: Live aerial footage of police running into Sandy Hook was of another school.”

Elected Officials Are Fundamentally Dishonest

To the Editor:

This letter was forwarded to Barack Obama, John Boehner, Chris Murphy, Dick Blumenthal, Elizabeth Esty, and Harry Reid

I live in Sandy Hook, CT. My family and close friends weren’t harmed on December 14. That day impacted 26 families with an indescribable, staggering pain and anguish. For most of Sandy Hook, it merely affected us with an inescapable intensity of sadness and grief.

Gun control has long been a focus of many in this country. Though I’m not knowledgeable of all the nuances of the Second Amendment, based on the Founding Fathers’ circumstances, it had far more to do with enabling the citizenry to protect themselves against tyrannical government than against local psychopaths. It is about providing a balanced firepower so when King George’s successor came knocking on your door, you could fight back. Government today is no less inclined to abuse its authority than it was then. Based on the absurd and ongoing power grab that is present day Washington, it’s as threatening as ever.

That so many of you view the NRA with its resistance to further restrictions on firearms as intransigent lunatics has far more to do with how you conduct yourselves in office than it does with the NRA’s actions.

You in public office are fundamentally dishonest people. You lead lives of deception at every turn, structuring your lives as comfortably as you can while governing with an indifference and arrogance that is absolutely maddening. When the country is reeling from financial disaster, you waste a trillion dollars on a health care bill we can’t afford and you’ve never read. You claim it’s critical because health care costs are killing this country… no they’re not, you are! You are killing this country. You endorse the ongoing slaughter of millions of unborn children and whine when terrorists are water boarded. You can’t lecture us right in Newtown High School about not doing enough to keep our children safe, while simultaneously slaughtering the unborn. You fabricate the intense, media laden drama of the fiscal cliff and lack the courage to do anything about truly reforming the obscene gluttony of government. You know you’ll be out of office before the bill comes due… you don’t care and have no integrity nor honor.

You lie whenever and wherever you need to to move forth your agenda. Were you able, you would purge the US of guns… every last gun in the country, if you could. So please forgive Wayne LaPierre and those of us who don’t trust you as far as we can spit. You’re a dishonest lot, motivated by a distorted worldview. If mass murder prevention were truly your goal, you would welcome armed security wherever needed. It is outrageous that we protect our money with far more firepower than we protect our children.

I have never owned a gun, nor wanted to as intensely as right now. You’ll stop restricting guns when only you have them.

Brendan Duffy

4 Chestnut Knoll Drive, Sandy Hook January 8, 2013

Obama’s kids more important than yours

So says liberal blogger Matt Yglesias.

This was in response to the NRA’s newest video which Yglesias tweeted, ”Pretty comfortable saying that the president’s children are in fact more important than yours”.

He then tweeted, “And, yes, I know your kids are more important TO YOU. But they’re less important to the country. That’s the point.”

If your kids aren’t as important to the country, then why did Obama surround himself with children as he signed the gun control executive orders?

h/t Weasel Zippers

DCG

Anti-gun organizations, celebrities, journalists, corporations

We are in a war, albeit a political-cultural one — at least for now.

In a war, the smart thing to do if you want to win is “Know your enemy.” And the last thing to do, in the political-cultural war we’re in, is to benefit the enemy by patronizing, donating to, paying for, and watching their movies/TV.

The research arm of the National Rifle Association, Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), has compiled a list of anti-gun organizations, individuals, corporations, and media outlets. I’ve colored red well-known names, to draw special attention to them. Use the list!

~Eowyn

Anti-Gun Organizations:

The following organizations have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations. In many instances, these organizations lent their name in support of specific campaigns to pass anti-gun legislation such as the March 1995 HCI “Campaign to Protect Sane Gun Laws.” Many of these organizations were listed as “Campaign Partners,” for having pledged to fight any efforts to repeal the Brady Act and the Clinton “assault weapons” ban. All have officially endorsed anti-gun positions.

AARP
AFL-CIO
Ambulatory Pediatric Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Civil Liberties Union
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
American Medical Women`s Association
American Medical Student Association
American Medical Association
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
American Trauma Society
American Federation of Teachers
American Association of School Administrators
American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities
American Bar Association
American Counseling Association
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for World Health
American Ethical Union
American Nurses Association
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
American Firearms Association
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Jewish Committee
American Trauma Society
American Psychological Association
American Jewish Congress
American Public Health Association
Americans for Democratic Action
Anti-Defamation League
Black Mental Health Alliance
B’nai B’rith
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Children’s Defense Fund
Church of the Brethren
Coalition for Peace Action
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
College Democrats of America
Committee for the Study of Handgun Misuse & World Peace
Common Cause
Congress of National Black Churches, Inc.
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Consumer Federation of America
Council of the Great City Schools
Council of Chief State School Officers
Dehere Foundation
Disarm Educational Fund
Environmental Action Foundation
Episcopal Church-Washington Office
Florence and John Shumann Foundation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
General Federation of Women’s Clubs
George Gund Fund
Gray Panthers
H.M. Strong Foundation
Hadassah
Harris Foundation
Hechinger Foundation
Interfaith Neighbors
Int’l Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union
Int’l Association of Educators for World Peace
Jewish Labor Committee
Joyce Foundation
Lauder Foundation
Lawrence Foundation
League of Women Voters of the United States*
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Manhattan Project II
Mennonite Central Committee-Washington Office
National Safe Kids Campaign
National Association of Police Organizations
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Black Nurses’ Association
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
National Network for Youth
National Assembly of National Voluntary Health & Social Welfare Organizations
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Counties*
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners
National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers
National Education Association
National Association of Elementary School Principals*
National Association of Public Hospitals
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Children`s Hospitals and Related Institutions
National Association of School Psychologists
National Council of La Raza
National Center to Rehabilitate Violent Youth
National Commission for Economic Conversion & Disarmament
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
National Council of Negro Women
National Association of Community Health Centers
National People’s Action
National Education Association*
National League of Cities
National Council on Family Relations
National Council of Jewish Women
National Organization for Women
National Political Congress of Black Women
National Parks and Conservation Association
National Peace Foundation
National Urban League, Inc.
National Parent, Teachers Association*
National Urban Coalition
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
National Organization on Disability
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Ortenberg Foundation
Peace Action
People for the American Way
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Police Foundation
Project on Demilitarization and Democracy
Public Citizen
SaferWorld
Society of Critical Care Medicine
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Council of the Great City Schools
The Synergetic Society
20/20 Vision
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Association
United States Catholic Conference
United Methodist Church, General Board & Church Society
United Church of Christ, Office for Church in Society*
United States Conference of Mayors
War and Peace Foundation
Women Strike for Peace
Women’s National Democratic Club
Women’s Action for New Directions
Women’s Int’l League for Peace and Freedom
World Spiritual Assembly, Inc.
YWCA of the U.S.A.

*The national organization only endorses federal legislation.

Anti-Gun Individuals

The following celebrities, national figures, and journalists have lent their names and reputation to anti-gun causes, speaking out for anti-gun legislation and providing a voice for anti-gun organizations.

Celebrities:

Many entertainment celebrities have starred in violent movies and TV programs, thereby fostering America’s culture of violence. The names of the most egregious are colored red. Many celebrities are protected by armed bodyguards and live in mansions armed to the teeth with security systems, but they would deny ordinary Americans who don’t have their mega-wealth the right and means to defend ourselves. Rank hypocrites!

Krista Allen – Actress
Suzy Amis – Actress
Louis Anderson – Comedian
Richard Dean Anderson – Actor
Maya Angelou – Poet
David Arquette – Actor
Ed Asner – Actor
Alec Baldwin – Actor
Bob Barker – TV Personality
Carol Bayer Sager – Composer
Drew Barrymore – Actress
Kevin Bacon – Actor
Lauren Bacall – Actress*
Sarah Ban Breathnach – Writer
William Baldwin – Actor
Candice Bergen – Actress
Richard Belzer – Actor
Tony Bennett – Singer
Boys II Men – Pop Group
Jon Bon Jovi – Singer
Peter Bogdonovich – Director
Peter Bonerz – Actor
Albert Brooks – Actor
Beau Bridges – Actor
Benjamin Bratt – Actor
Bonnie Bruckheimer – Movie Producer
Christie Brinkley – Model
Dr. Joyce Brothers – Psychologist/Author
James Brolin – Actor
James Brooks – TV Producer
Mel Brooks – Actor/Director
Betty Buckley – Actress
Ellen Burstyn – Actress
Steve Buscemi – Actor
David Canary – Actor
Kate Capshaw – Actress
Kim Cattrall- Actress
Josh Charles – Actor
Robert Chartloff – Producer
Stockard Channing – Actress
Jill Clayburgh – Actress
Terri Clark – Singer
George Clooney – Actor
Jackie Cooper – Actor/Director*
Jennifer Connelly – Actress
Judy Collins – Singer
Kevin Costner – Actor
Sean Connery – Actor (007 James Bond)
Sheryl Crow – Singer
Billy Crystal- Actor
Julie Cypher – Director
Arlene Dahl – Actress
Clive Davis – Writer
Linda Dano – Actress
Matt Damon – Actor
Pam Dawber – Actress
Patrika Darbo – Actress
Stuart Damon – Actor
Gavin de Becker – Writer
Ellen Degeneres – Actress
Rebecca DeMornay – Actress
Danny DeVito – Actor
Michael Douglas – Actor
Phil Donahue – Talk Show Host
Richard Donner – Director
Fran Drescher – Actress
Richard Dreyfus – Actor
David Duchovny – Actor
Sandy Duncan – Actress
Christine Ebersole – Actress
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds – Singer
Missy Elliott – Singer
Nora Ephron – Director
Gloria Estefan – Singer
Melissa Etheridge – Singer
Mia Farrow – Actress
Mike Farrell – Actor
Carrie Fisher – Actress
Sally Field – Actress
Doug Flutie – NFL player
Fannie Flagg – Actress
Jane Fonda – Actress
Jodie Foster – Actress
Rick Fox – NBA Player
Andy Garcia – Actor
Art Garfunkel – Singer
Geraldo – TV personality
Richard Gere – Actor
Kathie Lee Gifford – TV personality
Paul Glaser – TV director
Brad Gooch – Writer
Elliott Gould – Actor
Louis Gossett, Jr. – Actor
Michael Gross – Actor
Nancy Lee Grahn – Actress
Bryant Gumbel – TV Personality
Deidra Hall – Actress
Ethan Hawke – Actor
Mariette Hartley – Actress
Mark Harmon – Actor
Anne Heche – Actress
Howard Hessman – Actor
Marilu Henner – Actress
Dustin Hoffman – Actor
Hal Holbrook – Actor*
Helen Hunt – Actress
Grace-Lynne Ingle – Actress
John Ingle – Actor
Francesca James – TV Producer
Norman Jewison – Director
Lainie Kazan – Actress
Richard Karn – Actor
Jeffrey Katzenberg – Producer
Barry Kemp – TV Producer
David E. Kelley – TV Producer
Diane Keaton – Actress
Margaret Kemp – Interior Designer
Chaka Khan – Singer
Coreta Scott King – Activist
Kevin Kline – Actor
Michael E. Knight – Actor
Jonathan Kozol – Writer
William Kovacs – Director
Lenny Kravits – Singer
Lisa Kudrow – Actress
Wally Kurth – Actor
Christine Lahti – Actress
k.d. lang – Singer
Ricki Lake – TV personality
Denis Leary – Actor
John Leguizamo – Actor
Norman Lear – TV Producer
Spike Lee – Director
Hal Linden – Actor
Lisa Linde – Actress
Tara Lipinski – Former Olympian
Keyshawn Johnson – NFL player
Rob Lowe – Actor
Amanda Marshall – Singer
Barry Manilow – Singer
Camryn Manheim – Actress
Howie Mandel – Actor
Kyle MacLachlan – Actor
Madonna – Singer
Marla Maples – Actress
Marsha Mason – Actress*
Mase – Singer
Penny Marshall – Director, Actress
Prema Mathai-Davis – YWCA Official
John McDaniel – Musician
John McEnroe – Athlete
Brian McKnight – Musician
Natalie Merchant – Singer
Bette Midler – Singer
Shane Minor – Musician
Mary Tyler Moore – Actress
Michael Moore – Film Maker
Norval Morris – Law Professor
Mike Myers – Actor
N Sync – Music group
Kathy Najimy – Actress
Jack Nicholson – Actor
Leonard Nimoy – Actor
Mike Nichols – Director
Stephen Nichols – Actor
Rosie O’Donnell- Actress/Talk Show Host
Jennifer O Neill – Actress
Julia Ormond – Actress
Jane Pauley – TV Personality
Sarah Jessica Parker – Actress
Mandy Patinkin – Actor
Richard North Patterson – Writer
Rhea Perlman- Actress
Michelle Pfieffer – Actress
Sydney Pollack – Director
Aidan Quinn – Actor
Colin Quinn – Actor
Dennis Quaid – Actor
Elizabeth Bracco Quinn – Actress
Bonnie Raitt – Singer
Debbie Reynolds – Actress
Mary Lou Retton – Former Olympian
Paul Reiser – Actor
Peter Reckell – Actor
Rob Reiner – Actor/Director
Robert Redford – Actor/Director
Anne Rice – Writer
Cathy Rigby – Actress
Julia Roberts – Actress
Marc Rosen – TV Producer
Tim Robbins – Actor
Tim Roth – Actor
Renee Russo – Actress
Robin Ruzan – Wife of Mike Myers
Meg Ryan – Actress
Susan Sarandon – Actress
Jerry Seinfeld – Actor
Kyra Sedgwick – Actress
Martin Sheen – Actor
Russell Simmons – Record Producer
Neil Simon – Playwright*
Louise Sorel – Actress
Mira Sorvino – Actress
Rena Sofer – Actress
Britney Spears – Singer
Bruce Springsteen – Singer
Kevin Spirtas – Actor
Barbra Streisand – Singer
David Steinberg – Director
Sylvester Stallone – Actor
Harry Dean Stanton – Actor
Meryl Streep – Actress
Patrick Stewart – Actor
Sharon Stone – Actress
Sting – Singer
Trudie Styler – Wife of Sting/Actress
Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Actor
The Temptations – Pop Group
Vinny Testaverde – NFL player
Marlo Thomas – Actress*
Uma Thurman – Actress
Steve Tisch – Producer
Mike Torrez – Former Baseball player
Shania Twain – Singer
Dick Van Dyke – Actor
Eli Wallach – Actor*
Ruth Warrick – Actress
Harvey Weinstein – Producer
Jann Wenner – Publisher
Sigourney Weaver – Actress
Victor Webster – Actor
James Whitmore – Actor*
Andy Williams – Singer*
Kelli Williams – Actress
Henry Winkler – Actor
Oprah Winfrey – Entertainer
Rita Wilson – Wife of Tom Hanks/Actress
Vanessa Williams – Actress
Herman Wouk – Author
Joanne Woodward – Actress*
Peter Yarrow – Singer
Catherine Zeta-Jones – Actress
Ahmet Zappa -Actor
Diva Zappa -Actress
Dweezil Zappa – Musician
Moon Zappa -Actress

* Denotes membership on Brady Campaign’s National Committee

National Figures:

Joel J. Alpert M.D. – Pediatrician
Robert Bernstein Ph.D – Pediatrician
Robert E. Brennan – Financier
Bishop Edmond Browning – Espiscopal Leader
Jimmy Carter – Former President
Marion Wright Edelman – Director, Children’s Defense Fund
Michael Eisner, Former Chairman and CEO The Walt Disney Company
Ahmet Ertegun – Music Producer
Amitai Etzioni – Teacher
Tom Freston – MTV President
Dr. Lorraine E. Hale – Social Worker
Della M. Hughes – Activist
Ed Koch – Former NY mayor
C. Everett Koop – Former Surgeon General
Rev. Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa – Clergyman
Davis S. Liederman – Ex. Dir. Child Welfare League
Paul Rabbi Menitaff – Clergyman
Abner Mikva – Former Judge
Richard Parsons – President of Time Warner
Steven Rockefeller – Financier
Ellen Y. Rosenberg – Activist
Rabbi David Saperstein – Clergyman
Herb Scannel – Pres. Nickelodeon
Vincent Schiraldi – Dir. Justice Policy Institute
Lyle Elmer Strom – Federal Judge
Joe Volk – Clergyman
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie – Clergyman

Journalists:

The following journalists actively editorialize in favor of gun control laws:

Steve Benson – Cartoonist
Tony Auth – Cartoonist
Jim Borgman – Cartoonist
Jimmy Breslin – Columnist
Stuart Carlson – Cartoonist
Marie Cocco – Columnist
E.J. Dionne Jr. – Columnist
Bonnie Erbe – Columnist
Tom Fiedler – Columnist
Michael Gartner – Columnist
Mark Genrich – Columnist
James Glassman – Editor
Bob Herbert – Columnist
Bill Johnson – Columnist
Donald Kaul – Columnist
Mike Lane – Cartoonist
Leonard Larson – Columnist
Mike Luckovich – Cartoonist
Jimmy Margulies – Cartoonist
Deborah Mathis – Columnist
Colman McCarthy – Columnist
Jim Morin – Cartoonist
Tom Oliphant – Columnist
Mike Peters – Cartoonist
Robert Reno – Columnist
Frank Rich – Columnist
Cindy Richards – Columnist
Kevin Siers- Cartoonist
Ed Stein – Cartoonist
Tom Teepen – Editor
Tim Toles – Cartoonist
Garry Trudeau – Cartoonist
Cynthia Tucker – Columnist
Steve Twomey – Columnist
Steve Villano – Columnist
Adrienne Washington – Columnist
Don Wright – Cartoonist

Anti-Gun Corporations/Corporate Heads

The following includes the most prominent national corporations that have lent their corporate support to gun control initiatives or taken position supporting gun control.

A & M Records
Al Cafaro, Chrm. & CEO
595 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
(212) 826-0477
http://www.amrecords.com

Record Production, Entertainment American Century Companies
James E. Stowers, CEO
4500 Main St., 4th Floor
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 531-5575
http://www.americancentury.com

American Multi Cinemas Entertainment, Inc.
Stanley H. Durwood, Co-Chairman, CEO Peter C. Brown, President, CFO
106 West 14th Street, #1700
Kansas City, MO 64141
(816) 221-4000
http://www.amctheaters.com
Movie Theater Company

Argosy Casino
H. Steven Norton, President, CEO
777 N.W. Argosy Parkway
Riverside, MO 64150
(816) 746-7711
http://www.argosycasinos.com/
Gambling Casino Company

Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.
Bennett R. Cohen Chrm. & CEO
Rte. 100, Box 240
Waterbury, VT 05676
(802) 244-5641
http://www.benjerry.com
Ice cream and frozen yogurt

BJC Health Systems
Fred L. Brown, President & CEO
4444 Forest Park Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 747-9322
http://www.bjc.org/
Healthcare Company

Blue Cross Blue Shield – Kansas City
John P. Mascotte, President
P.O. Box 419169
Kansas City, MO 64141
(816) 395-2222
Healthcare Company

Brooks Investments
Robert Brooks
45 Chesterfield Lakes Road
Chesterfield, MO 63005
Investment Company

Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc.
Philip M. Hawley, Chrm. & CEO
444 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 620-0150
Retail clothing and accessories stores

Crown Central Petroleum Corp.
Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr.
One North Central Street Box 1168
Baltimore, MD 21203
(301) 539-7400
Refiners and marketers of petroleum products, convenience stores

Development Specialists – Chicago
70 W. Madison Street, #2300
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 263-4141

Earthgrains – St. Louis
8400 Maryland Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 259-7000
http://www.ironkids.com/Pages/Earthgrains.html
National Bread Company

General American – St. Louis
Richard A. Liddy, CEO
P.O. Box 396
St. Louis, MO 63166
(314) 843-8700
http://www.genam.com
Life Insurance

Hallmark Cards
Irvine O. Hockaday, President & CEO
P.O. Box 418307
Kansas City, MO 64141
(816) 274-5111
http://www.hallmark.com
Greeting Card Company

Health Midwest
2316 East Meyer Boulevard
Kansas City, MO 64132
(816) 751-3000
http://www.healthmidwest.org
National Healthcare Company

ICN Biomedicals
Adam Jerney, Chrm. & CEO
3300 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 545-0113
http://www.icnbiomed.com
Pharmaceutical products

James B. Nutter Co. – Kansas City
James B. Nutter
4153 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 531-2345
Investment Banker

Kansas City Chiefs
One Arrowhead Drive
Kansas City, MO 64129
(816) 924-9300
http://www.kcchiefs.com
Pro Football Team

Kansas City Royals
David Glass, CEO
P.O. Box 419969
Kansas City, MO 64141
(816) 921-8000
http://www.kcroyals.com
Pro Baseball Team

Kenneth Cole
152 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
(800) 536-2653
http://www.kennethcole.com
Clothing retailer

Lamar Advertising Company
Lamar Outdoor Advertising
5551 Corporate Boulevard, Suite 2-A
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
P. O. Box 66338
Baton Rouge, LA 70896
(225) 926-1000
Fax (225) 926-1005
http://www.lamar.com

Levi Strauss & Co.
Robert D. Haas, Chairman
Philip Marineau, CEO
Peter A. Jacobi, President and COO
1155 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 501-6000
FAX (415) 501-3939
http://www.levistrauss.com
Clothing

Mallinckrodt, Inc. – St. Louis
C. Ray Holman, President & CEO
675 McDonnell Blvd, Box 5840
St. Louis, MO 63134
(314) 654-2000
http://www.mallinckrodt.com
Clothing Starch Company

Michael Douglas Foundation
3550 Wilshire
Los Angele, CA 90010

MNC Financial, Inc.
Ten Light Street Box 987
Baltimore, MD 21203
(301) 244-5000
Banking, financial services

Sara Lee Corporation & Foundation
Three First National Plaza
Chicago, IL 60602-4260
Phone: 312-726-2600
http://www.saralee.com
Fax: 312-726-3712

Silver Dollar City
Peter Herschend
One Corporate Drive
Branson, MO 65616
800 475-9370
http://www.silverdollarcity.com
Amusement Parks

Site Oil Company – St. Louis
Alvin J. Siteman, President
50 S. Bemiston
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 725-4321
Oil Company

Southland Corporation
Masatoshi Ito, Chrm.
2711 North Haskell Avenue
Dallas, TX 75221
http://www.7-eleven.com
Convenience stores

Southwestern Bell Telephone- St. Louis
One Bell Center
St. Louis, MO 63101
(314) 235-9800
http://www.swbell.com
Telecommunications Firm

Sport & Health, Inc.
Don Konz, CEO
1800 Old Meadow Rd.
McLean, Virginia 22102
(703) 556-6556
http://www.sportandhealth.com
Health clubs and fitness centers

Sprint Corp PAC
Westwood, KS 66205
913 624-3000
http://www.sprint.com
Telecommunicaitons Firm

SSM Health System – St. Louis
477 N. Lindbergh
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314) 994-7800
Healthcare Company

St. Louis Rams
One Rams Way
Earth City, MO 63045
(314) 982-7267
http://www.stlouisrams.com
Pro Football Team

St. Louis University
Rev. Lawrence Biondi, President
221 N. Grand Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 977-2222
http://www.slu.edu
Private Catholic University

Stoneyfield Farms Yogurt
Mr. Gary Hirshberg, CEO
10 Burton Drive
Londonderry, NH 03053
(603) 437-7594
Yogurt

Sverdrup Corp.
Richard E. Beumer,
Chairman & CEO
13723 Riverport Drive
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
(314) 436-7600
http://www.sverdrup.com
Engineering Firm

Time Warner Inc.
Gerald M. Levin, Chrm. & CEO
75 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10019
(212) 484-8000
http://www.pathfinder.com/corp/
Publishing, film and music recordings

TMP Worldwide/Monster.Com
Andrew McKelvey, CEO
1633 Broadway, 33rd Fl.
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-977-4200
Fax: 212-956-2142
http://www.tmpw.com
http://www.monster.com
online employment service

Unity Health – St. Louis
1650 Des Peres Road #301
St. Louis, MO 63131
(314) 909-3300
http://www.smhs.com/unityheath.html
Healthcare Company

Working Assets
Peter Barnes, Founder
701 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 788-0777
http://www.workingassets.com

Publication and Media Outlets

The following publications and media outlets have assisted in the attack on Second Amendment rights. The editorial policies of some of the media sources listed portray firearms in a negative manner in an attempt to generate public support for restrictions on firearms ownership. Others have refused some or all of NRA’s advertisements.

Capital Cities/ABC Television Network
77 W. 66th Street
New York, NY 10023-6298
(212) 456-7777Bell Atlantic-D.C.
2055 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 392-9900

Blue Chip Stamps
15801 S. Eastern Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90040
(213) 720-4600

The Christian Publishing Society
The Christian Science Monitor
One Norway Street
Boston, MA 02115
(508) 586-6200

Columbia Broadcasting Service
CBS Television Network
51 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 975-4321

Corporation For Public Broadcasting/ PBS Television
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314-1698
(703) 739-5000
(703) 739-0775 – Fax

Cox Newspapers
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credibank Towers, Suite 400
2800 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 576-7678

Gannett News Service
USA Today
1000 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22229
(703) 276-5806

Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.
Ebony Magazine
820 S. Michigan avenue
Chicago, IL 60605-2190
(312) 322-9250

Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Detroit Free-Press
321 W. LaFayette Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48231
(313) 222-6400

Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, FL 33132-1683
(305) 350-2111

Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, California 90053
(213) 237-4511
(213) 237-7679 – Fax

McCall’s Magazine
110 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017-5603
(212) 463-1000

Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine
6420 Wilshire Blvd., Floor 17
Los Angeles, California 90048
(323) 782-2000

National Broadcasting Company
NBC Television Network
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
(212) 664-4444

Newsweek, Inc.
Newsweek Magazine
444 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022-6999
(212) 350-4000

Rolling Stone Magazine
Jann Wenner, Chrm. & CEO
745 5th, Avenue
New York, NY 10151
(212) 758-3800

The New York Times Corporation
The New York Times
229 W. 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 556-1234

Time Magazine
Time & Life Building
Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020
(212) 522-1212

Times-Mirror Corporation
The Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA 90053
(213) 237-3000

The Baltimore Sun
501 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21278
(301) 332-6300

The Tribune Company
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 227-3000

Washington Post
1150 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20071
(202) 334-6000

[Source: Mike Piccione of The Daily Caller, Jan. 3, 2013]

Going After Our Guns

In the wake of the terrible massacre of 20 first-grade kiddies (and 6 adults) by an evil, likely-deranged lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the usual gun-control hyenas are braying.

This time, however, they may succeed in their gun control agenda, at least in getting assault weapons banned.

The Usual Hyenas:

CNN anchor Don Lemon (pic above) went on an anti-gun rant on Monday morning: “We need to get guns and bullets and automatic weapons off the streets. They should only be available to police officers and to hunt al-Qaeda and the Taliban and not hunt elementary school children.”

In a Twitter exchange on Saturday, MSNBC host Ed Schultz asked “Why should anyone own an assault rifle ?” and proposed a “confiscation of these types of weapons”. He also told one poster that “a Glock pistol qualifies as an assault weapon.”

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg renewed his perennial call for punitive federal gun control laws in the United States by lying that shooting deaths “only happen in America.” Not true. There have been shootings in other post-industrial societies, including Oslo, Norway; Winnendon, Germany; Kauhajoki, Finland; Beslan, Russia; Monash University, Australia; Dunblane, Scotland. (For those shootings, go here.)

Chicago mayor and former Obama White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel is calling for a nation-wide ban on assault weapons. When he was Obama’s COS, Emanuel famously said that “No crisis should go to waste.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) has pledged to revive a law banning assault weapons at the opening of the next session of Congress in January.

Ominous Signs:

The powerful pro-2nd Amendment National Rifle Association (NRA) shut down their Facebook page and have not had any Twitter activity since the massacre on Friday morning. NRA officials have kept quiet. On Twitter, NRA president David Keene and NRA members have received death threats — calls for them to be shot. The irony of anti-gun people issuing death threats appears to be lost on everyone.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who has been a strong supporter of 2nd Amendment rights with an A rating from the NRA — is signaling he’s changing his mind. On Monday outside the Virginia Capitol, Warner said: “I‘ve been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights. I’ve got an A rating from the NRA. But the status quo isn’t acceptable. I’ve got three daughters. They asked me on Friday evening, ‘Dad, what are you gonna do about this?’ There’s got to be a way to put reasonable restrictions, particularly as we look at assault weapons, as we look at these fast clips of ammunition.”

Obama’s Hypocrisy

Gun rights advocates believe Obama will now focus on making gun control a top issue; one said, “It’s in his DNA to push this issue. This would be his crowning achievement, if he can ban guns.”

What is noteworthy is that, despite Obama’s decrying of gun violence, since he has been president, prosecutions for breaking gun laws have diminished sharply — a drop of 40% since the zenith reached under George W. Bush, which was 11,000.

***

Meanwhile, the American people are responding with an upsurge of gun purchases, even more than the marked increases in gun buying since Obama first occupied the White House.

In Colorado, for example, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation received 4,154 requests for background checks from potential gun buyers on Saturday, the day after the Connecticut shooting. That was so many the CBI couldn’t process them all and the backlog grew to nearly 18 hours. Extra staff was brought in over the weekend and workers are still trying to clear the backlog.

~Eowyn

Indiana empowers citizens against police state

Indiana just became the first state to legally permit residents to shoot at police if they feel their property is being illegally breached by an officer.

Newsroom America reports, June 12, 2012, that proponents of the law, including its author, state Sen. Michael Young and the National Rifle Association, say it was necessary following a state Supreme Court ruling last year which said “there is no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.”

The new Indiana law amends — by adding the term “public servant” — the 2006 so-called Castle Doctrine bill that allows deadly force to stop illegal entry into a home or car.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Castle doctrine:

A Castle Doctrine (also known as a Castle Law or a Defense of Habitation Law) is an American legal doctrine that designates a person’s abode (or, in some states, any place legally occupied, such as a car or place of work) as a place in which the person has certain protections and immunities and may in certain circumstances use force, up to and including deadly force, to defend against an intruder without becoming liable to prosecution. Typically deadly force is considered justified, and a defense of justifiable homicide applicable, in cases “when the actor reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm to himself or another”. The doctrine is not a defined law that can be invoked, but a set of principles which is incorporated in some form in the law of most states.

Opponents of the new Indiana law, especially police organizations, say it is a recipe for disaster. Sgt. Joseph Hubbard, a 17-year veteran of the Jeffersonville, Ind., police department, said: “If I pull over a car and I walk up to it and the guy shoots me, he’s going to say, ‘Well, he was trying to illegally enter my property’. “Somebody is going get away with killing a cop because of this law.”

Do you agree with the new law or with Sgt. Hubbard?

H/t Grouchy Fogie and Dennis

~Eowyn

House to Pass Concealed-Weapons Reciprocity Bill

Here’s some encouraging Second Amendment news after yesterday’s downer about that mayor in New Mexico banning guns in the village of Ruidoso.

More than half of the members of the House of Representatives have co-sponsored a bill, requiring any state or jurisdiction that issues concealed-weapons permits to honor permits granted by any other state or jurisdiction. It’s H.R. 822: The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill.

John Crewdson reports for Bloomberg News, Sept. 12, 2011, that if Congress passes the bill, Florida’s licenses, for example, would apply to 49 states in all — allowing their holders to carry hidden guns in places such as midtown Manhattan, where the New York Police Department currently rejects most such applications for “concealed- carry” permits.

Only Illinois and Washington, D.C., where residents aren’t allowed to carry concealed handguns at all, would be exempt from the bill.

“Law-abiding people are not immune from crime just because they cross over a state border,” said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association. The 4 million-member gun-rights group has lobbied state legislatures to pass concealed-carry laws since the 1980s, and it considers the federal “reciprocity” bill a common-sense approach to the state-by-state patchwork of rules, he said.

But John Donohue, a professor at Stanford Law School, says he thinks the bill would be held unconstitutional because it “effectively prevents a state from controlling who has guns within the state, which has always been a core police power function of state government. It is so ironic that it is the conservatives who are trying to push this encroachment, since they usually are very active in championing states’ rights.”

Rules and standards — including safety-training requirements — for granting such licenses vary by state. New Mexico requires 16 hours of training. Ohio requires 12, Texas and Louisiana, 10. At least 10 states require none.

From 2005 through 2009, U.S. domestic handgun production and foreign-made imports more than doubled, to 4,600,232 from 1,995,802, according to data compiled by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents the firearms industry.

With states’ adoption of concealed-carry laws and U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirming the right to keep and bear arms, “it is not surprising that there has been an increase in consumer demand for firearm and ammunition products,” said Lawrence G. Keane, the foundation’s senior vice president and general counsel.

In Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, signed the nation’s newest concealed-carry law on July 8, the legislation spurred an immediate increase in handgun purchases, said Eric Grabowski, who manages the Shooters Shop in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis.

A 2007 study by the Harvard School of Public Health, the most recent data available, estimated the number of privately owned firearms in the U.S. at 283 million — more than one for each of the 245 million Americans over the age of 20.

If adopted, the federal reciprocity bill would cause the number of handguns to “jump significantly,” said Grover Norquist, an NRA board member who’s better known as the president of Americans for Tax Reform. Among other reasons, Norquist cited his belief that people who live in one state and travel frequently to another for work or other reasons would buy more guns.

States can already choose to adopt reciprocity agreements — Florida has such pacts with 35 other states, although 4 of them require that the permit holder be a Florida resident. The federal bill would eliminate states’ discretion. As a result, even the most exacting jurisdictions would be required to honor permits from the laxest. Stanford University law professor Robert Weisberg called it a “race to the bottom.”

In 2007, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Fort Lauderdale reported that 1,400 people in the state had permits even though they had been sentenced for major crimes, including assault, drug possession, sexual battery and manslaughter. Judges had withheld formal convictions under a state law that allowed the practice.

Since 2007, after the NRA lobbied on the issue, 39 states have limited the amount of public information that’s available on permit holders — making investigations into their backgrounds more difficult.

In 14 states, residents need some form of license, permit or other prerequisite just to purchase a handgun from a dealer, according to the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. Those requirements wouldn’t be affected by the federal bill.

The federal legislation, introduced by U.S. Representative Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, and Representative Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, has already attracted 241 other co-sponsors in the House, enough to guarantee its passage in that chamber.

Two Republican senators, David Vitter of Louisiana and John Thune of South Dakota, are expected to introduce a companion bill that at least 10 Democratic senators are likely to support, said Chad Ramsey, a lobbyist with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which opposes concealed carry. That would give the bill 58 votes if all Republican senators supported it, two short of the number needed to avoid a filibuster.

Obama declared his opposition to carrying concealed weapons during the 2008 campaign. Matt Lehrich, a White House spokesman, declined to say whether Obama would veto a national reciprocity bill if it reaches his desk.

The bill, which is scheduled to come up during a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, is opposed by the American Bar Association. At its convention last month, the lawyers’ professional group adopted a resolution supporting “broad discretion” for local law enforcement in deciding whether to grant permits.

A coalition of 600 U.S. mayors announced its opposition to the bill today in a news release. The group, Mayors Against Illegal Handguns, is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

The 22,000-member International Association of Chiefs of Police also opposes the measure. “Our problem is the potpourri of varied training standards for each state,” said Scott Knight, the police chief in Chaska, Minnesota, and chairman of the group’s firearms committee.

Largely because of the differing standards among “shall issue” and “may issue” states, the bill raises what Harvard University professor of constitutional law Laurence Tribe calls “interesting and difficult constitutional questions.” Tribe said the bill is “an unprecedented attempt by Congress” to require states with more stringent concealed carry laws to accede to “the more permissive laws of whichever state initially licensed someone’s carrying of a concealed weapon.”

While the Constitution’s commerce clause gives Congress authority to regulate commerce between the states, the reciprocity bill probably wouldn’t fall within that power, said Weisberg, the law professor who serves as faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. Nor would it fall under Congress’ power to enforce such existing constitutional liberties as the right “to keep and bear arms,” he said. That’s because the Constitution is silent about whether there’s a specific right to carry a concealed firearm outside the home, and the Supreme Court has not yet spoken on the issue.

Read the full article here.

~Eowyn