Brady Campaign

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“Special Projects”

June 23, 2011 by

Mike Vanderboegh pointed out an article in Government Executive that seems to indicate that Ken Melson, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is digging in his heels about being pushed out of the agency. It surprises me a bit but I assume that his conditions on leaving are not being met by the political appointees in DOJ.

However, what really caught my eye in that article was a statement by Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, who was opining that ATF’s problems were because they only had an Acting Director.

The fact that no one has been confirmed as ATF director is worrisome to Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “You can’t run an important agency or any agency with just an acting head,” he said. “It makes it hard to launch special projects and crime-fighting initiatives and get support from agents to carry them out. I’m a former mayor, and if we’d had an acting police chief, things would have spiraled out of control.”

Helmke “points the finger at Congress, because they made it a confirmable position, so either confirm someone or restructure the agency,” he said. “The issues in Fast and Furious need to be addressed to find out who’s responsible, but with an acting head, no one’s responsible.”

Ken Melson came on board to head ATF in April 2009. Project Gunrunner did not morph into Operation Fast and Furious until after that. If Operation Fast and Furious was not a special project, then what was it? Or does Mr. Helmke have other special projects in mind such as the Shotgun Importability Study or the Multi-Rifle Sale Reporting Requirement? Perhaps the special project he had in mind was for ATF to find a way to completely abrogate our Second Amendment rights.

As to his specious argument that “no one’s responsible”, tell that to Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley who are looking long and hard at the higher-ups in the Department of Justice. Even if Andrew Traver had been confirmed as Director of ATF, I sincerely doubt he would have had the authority to start a project like Operation Fast and Furious on his own without clearance from his DOJ superiors. It involves wiretaps, international borders, and the drug cartels.

Helmke’s comments show just how desperate the Brady Campaign has become if this is the best they can do.

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Blah, blah, blah

June 13, 2011 by 2 Comments

The statement of Brady Campaign head Paul Helmke on their new campaign featuring Plaxico Burress is below. This campaign is being done in conjunction with the National Urban League and is called the Urban League Celebrity Empowerment Challenge. Burress said he is “committing his time and talent to volunteering with National Urban League youth programs that emphasize health, education and anti-violence, and pledging to recruit other professional athletes to do the same.”

I realize that Burress is doing what he is told he must do by his advisors if he wants to be able to play in the NFL again. This is similar to the stuff that Michael Vick had to do with the Humane Society of the U.S. To be honest, it is all a charade at portraying “redemption” on the part of Burress and his handlers. I just have to say it pisses me off to see the anti-gun vultures using him.

Paul Helmke, President Of The Brady Center, Remarks At Urban League, Plaxico Burress News Conference

Jun 13, 2011

NEW YORK — The Brady Center has formed a partnership with Plaxico Burress to prevent gun violence. Plaxico contacted us a year ago and told us that when he was released from prison, he wanted to spend his time warning young people, especially, about the risks and dangers of guns.

He told us that his direct, and painful, experience with a gun in a nightclub in 2008 had taught him a lot of lessons. It had taught him, ultimately, that guns make everything worse. And as time unfolded behind bars, his experience helped him understand that once he was free, he would have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children, athletes, and the entire sports community.

We’re pleased to work with Plaxico on this life-saving issue. The Brady Center is the nation’s largest public interest organization dedicated to ending gun violence in America. As a non-profit, 501-c-3 organization, we work to bring justice to gun violence victims in the courts. We educate Americans about the risks and dangers of guns. We fight in the courts to make sure strong gun laws remain on the books.

We have joined forces with people from the faith community, Hollywood, law enforcement, the medical community, education, and other segments of society. Today we’re happy to add another voice for our movement.

Children 15 years and under in America are 12 times more likely to die from guns than children in the next 25 largest industrialized countries combined. African-American children and teens are almost five times as likely as their white peers to be killed by firearms. Community violence, including gun violence, has the equivalent emotional impact on children as war or natural disaster.

Gun violence in America is clearly a disastrous problem — but it’s one we can do more to prevent.

America needs more voices such as Plaxico’s speaking on behalf of sensible gun laws and sensible behavior around guns. America needs Plaxico, other athletes and sports professionals, to be active in campaigns against gun violence. Plaxico will occupy a new and important place in this conversation.

He has agreed to work with us to share:

·His life’s journey, including how his decision to use a gun illegally injured himself, endangered many, and led to his incarceration;

·The lessons he has learned about the consequences of misusing a gun and the illegal possession of a gun;

·The inherent risks and dangers of guns; and

·The importance of abiding by gun laws.

We will have more to tell you about this partnership in the coming weeks. But for now, we are eager to see this man who has proven he can be a giant in football become a giant in the cause of helping save lives from being lost to gun violence.

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Ex-Con Wants To Play In NFL Again; Will Say Anything To Win Job

June 13, 2011 by 5 Comments

Former NY Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was released from the Oneida Correctional Facility this past Monday. He had served 20 months and 16 days in prison after being convicted of criminal possession of a firearm. The conviction stemmed from an incident where he had a negligent discharge of his Glock in a New York City nightclub. He was not carrying the pistol in a holster and shot himself in the leg when he grabbed for the pistol as it slipped in his pants.

Mr. Burress obviously would like to play in the NFL again. Tomorrow, he will appear at a news conference to make what is reported to be an attempt at redemption similar to his friend Michael Vick. According to Bill Ritter of New York’s EyewitnessNews 7:

The former Giants football star Plaxico Burress is campaigning for redemption – this after spending 20 months behind bars for carrying an illegal gun and then accidentally shooting himself in the leg outside a nightclub. He’s appearing with the Brady Center people – gun control advocates – for some big announcement on Monday. Also there: Tony Dungy, the former pro football head coach. You’ll recall that Dungy was also there when quarterback Michael Vick campaigned for redemption at a news conference with the Humane Society, after Vick emerged from prison for running an illegal dog fighting ring.

Obvious stunts or legitimate contriteness?

If it involves the Brady Campaign, my vote is for obvious stunt. Their press release is fairly restrained for them and just says:

NEW YORK — In his first public appearance since his release from prison, Plaxico Burress will make an important announcement Monday, June 13, at 11 a.m. EDT, at the offices of the National Urban League. He will be joined by National Urban League President Marc H. Morial, former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy and Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The announcement will be webcast on www.iamempowered.com and www.playmakersllc.com.

National Urban League President Marc Morial is best remembered within the gun community for filing the first city-backed lawsuit against firearms manufacturers for “damages” while mayor of New Orleans back in 1998. The Louisiana Supreme Court eventually dismissed the suit in 2001 after the State Legislature passed a bill forbidding cities from suing.

Given the participants in Monday’s event – Tony Dungy excepted – Mr. Burress probably associated with a more honest group of crooks while in prison than he’ll be sharing the stage with on Monday. Those crooks just wanted money or blow and not to take away other people’s civil rights.

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Pelosi Still Most Disliked Congressional Leader

June 5, 2011 by

The Rasmussen Reports’ most recent national survey shows Democrat Minority Leader (and former Speaker) Nancy Pelosi as the most disliked congressional leader.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 28% of Likely U.S. Voters hold a favorable opinion of Pelosi, now the House minority leader, while 63% view her unfavorably. This includes eight percent (8%) with a Very Favorable impression of the San Francisco congresswoman and 45% with a Very Unfavorable one.

I wonder why that could be. Maybe it is the people she associates with.

From Glittarazzi.com under Creative Commons License – 2011 Brady Center DC Gala
From 2011 Brady Center DC Gala
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Brady’s Prepared For ATF Comments On Multi-Rifle Reporting

May 26, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Brady Campaign is prepared for the May 31st deadline for comments on the ATF proposal to require dealers in the Southwest to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines in calibers greater than .22. Dennis Hennigan of the Brady Campaign posted this note on their website:

Tell ATF to Fight Assault Rifle Smuggling to Mexico!

Dear Friend,

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has proposed an important new step to curb gun smuggling to Mexico.

ATF wants to hear from you and has asked for the public to weigh in with comments on its new idea.

Please tell ATF that you support its proposal to require reporting of multiple sales of weapons, such as semi-automatic military-style assault rifles, by gun dealers in the Southwest border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The comment period closes May 31, so please click here to take action today!

America’s gun laws are so weak that gun dealers don’t even have to inform law enforcement when they sell dozens of these weapons of war in one sale.

The violence fueled by our weak gun laws is killing thousands both here and in Mexico, and gun trafficking to Mexico threatens to cause a major foreign policy crisis for the U.S.

Please make your voice heard and help ATF crack down on gunrunners to Mexico and contribute to security in Mexico and the United States.

After you’ve taken action, please also forward this message to your family and friends.

Sincerely,
Dennis Henigan, Vice President
Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Within that letter is a link to a form letter generator. Unfortunately, while the message can be personalized a bit, they have frozen the parts saying you support the proposal to require the reporting. Otherwise we could just use their generator to send mass amounts of letters opposing the ATF proposal. Their letter reads:

Support the Proposal to Require Reporting of Multiple Sales of Certain Long Guns (OMB control number 1140NEW)

Dear [Decision Maker],

I am writing to offer my comment in support of the Proposal to Require Reporting of Multiple Sales of Certain Long Guns (OMB control number 1140NEW).

America’s weak gun laws have contributed to massive numbers of guns, including military-style assault weapons, being sold by gun dealers to gun traffickers in the U.S. These guns harm Americans and are smuggled to Mexican drug cartels who wreak havoc on citizens, visitors, law enforcement, and government officials in Mexico.

Reporting multiple sales of weapons such as semi-automatic assault rifles will provide ATF with crucial notification of bulk gun sales to traffickers, giving law enforcement an opportunity to promptly investigate and stop a potential trafficker.

Under current law, ATF and other law enforcement agencies have neither the tools nor the resources to adequately stem the flow of trafficked guns from the United States into Mexico. Congress needs to provide law enforcement the tools it needs to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, including requiring background checks for all gun sales, giving ATF increased enforcement authority to crack down on corrupt gun dealers, and restricting the sale of military-style weaponry, such as large capacity ammunition magazines. The proposed reporting requirement is an important first step to stopping gun trafficking.

I urge you to support the Proposal to Require Reporting of Multiple Sales of Certain Long Guns (OMB control number 1140NEW).

Of course, it is utter bullshit. However, it emphasizes the need for our side to get its act together and submit comments. May 31st is only five days away if you count today. I will have a sample letter up with instructions a little later this morning.

If anyone knows of a form letter generator with a message opposing this proposal, please put it in the comments. I will make sure to publicize it.

H/T Josh

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Brady Campaign Continues To Oppose Due Process Of Law

May 16, 2011 by

The Brady Campaign released this highly indignant sounding press release condemning the House Judiciary Committee for preserving Americans’ right to the due process of law.

Brady Campaign Blasts Judiciary Committee’s Vote Against Amendment to Prevent Gun Sales to Terrorists
May 12, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee voted down an amendment to the Patriot Act, offered by Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.-10), to close the “Terror Gap” by giving the Attorney General authority to prevent gun sales to known or suspected terrorists. The Committee voted 21-11 against the Quigley Amendment on a party-line vote. Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued this statement in response to the Committee’s action:

“On the day after two suspected terrorists seeking to buy guns and explosives were arrested in New York City, the House Judiciary Committee, incredibly, voted against an amendment to give the Attorney General the authority to prevent known or suspected terrorists from buying guns. Since 2004, over 1,300 persons on the terrorist watch list have been allowed to purchase firearms or explosives because federal law is so weak that being a known or suspected terrorist is not itself sufficient to prohibit someone from buying guns. The Quigley Amendment would have closed this dangerous ‘Terror Gap.”

Osama bin Laden is dead, but the war on terror is far from over. How can the Congress pretend to be serious about protecting the nation from terrorism, while voting to allow known terrorists to buy guns? The shadow of the gun lobby falls heavily over this disgraceful vote. Is there now a ‘gun exception’ to the war on terror?”

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“Disputed And Unconfirmed”

May 10, 2011 by 9 Comments

The Brady Campaign issued a new “research report” today entitled Officer Gunned Down. I won’t get into a critique of the so-called study now. Rather, I want to point out what might be one of their first comments on Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker).(corrected)

Rio Rico, Arizona, Dec. 14, 2010.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, 40, was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a group of armed subjects who had been robbing illegal immigrants as soon as they crossed the border from Mexico to Arizona.

Two of the guns recovered at the scene of Agent Terry’s murder were part of a Phoenix-based sting operation targeting major Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The shooting has engendered controversy, as it s alleged that federal prosecutors and ATF permitted 1,998 guns to be purchased and retained by suspected straw buyers in the hope that a major case could be built. While the truth of those allegations are disputed and unconfirmed. it is undisputed that if firearms laws were stronger by prohibiting multiple sales and requiring responsible sales practices, these gun sales could not have been legally completed.

Other weapons from the sting were recovered in May 2010, when a Customs and Border Protection agent confronted an armed band of criminals along the U.S. side of the border. The suspects fled but some of the guns they left behind were traced back to weapons purchased in the sting

The allegations are disputed and unconfirmed?

Are the authors of this report living in Never-Never Land? Have they not seen the CBS News reports by Sharyl Attkisson where ATF Agents have gone on camera and on record about Operation Fast and Furious? Have they not read the released documents from Senator Grassley and Representative Issa which show that the firearms dealers were told to go through with these sales even though they objected? I won’t even go into the work done by Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea to bring this story to light since December 2010.

These sales would not have been completed if the gun dealers were allowed to follow their own good instincts and decline the sale. They had questions and were co-opted by the powers that be in the Phoenix Field Division.

The authors of this “study” by the Brady Campaign are engaging in willful denial of the facts. To try and blame it on weak gun laws and irresponsible gun dealers is to whitewash the complicity of ATF managers in allowing these gun to walk. Frankly, it is the authors of this study who are being irresponsible.

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Gun Banners Harbor Religious Bigots In Their Midst

May 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

Since the Brady Campaign loves to mine Facebook postings for negative information about gun rights supporters, turnabout is fair play. The Days of Our Trailers blog reports on this bigotry here along with a screen shot of the page. That page by the way is still up on Facebook.

In a discussion of the state of Utah being ranked a “0” in the latest Brady State Scorecard, one person wonders whether there is a relationship between Mormonism and attitudes towards gun rights. This prompts a response from Andrew Goddard, father of the Brady Campaign’s newest poster boy Colin Goddard, who says:

Steve – watch the spelling mate – the connection is with “Moronism” rather than a strange cult spelled almost the same.

 While I am not a theologian nor am I conversant on all the beliefs of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, I wouldn’t call them a “strange cult”. Indeed, I find their emphasis on family life and on preparedness refreshing in this day and age where all too many rely upon the government to take care of them.

I call upon Sarah Brady and Paul Helmke to repudiate Mr. Goddard’s bigoted statements in the harshest of terms. Failure to do so will mean that they wish to be complicit in the promotion of religious bigotry.

UPDATE: David Codrea devotes his National Gun Rights Examiner column to the Brady Scorecard and the religious intolerance shown on their Facebook page.

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Always Whining About Something

May 7, 2011 by 4 Comments

I hate to say it but Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, is a whiny loser. The press release below is because NRA News sent a cameraman to the Brady Campaign’s press conference where they announced their state “score cards”. That cameraman doubled the attendance at the press conference. What really must get Mr. Helmke is the realization that the media, though openly sympathetic to gun control, considers the Brady Campaign irrelevant.

In yet another sign of how out of touch it is with how people interact in a civilized society, the National Rifle Association is apparently so wrapped up in its paranoid view of the world that it planted an undercover cameraman at our news conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday when the Brady Campaign released its annual Scorecard of State gun laws that can help reduce gun violence.

This is not the first outrageous NRA attempt to spy on us when they’ve been worried that our information might dampen support for its pro-gun agenda.

A few years ago, the corporate spy Mary McFate, also known as Mary Lou Sapone, tried to campaign and then talk her way onto the Brady Board. She failed to get nominated or elected to a board seat. McFate was later outed in 2008 by Mother Jones magazine as an NRA mole who spent a decade starting in the late 1990s infiltrating various national gun violence prevention groups.

On Wednesday, when the undercover NRA cameraman came to our news event, he lied and said he represented CBS. He claimed his name was Julio Luzquinos, but we cannot verify it. The phone number he listed is a non-working number and a D.C. assignment editor for CBS News said it doesn’t have anyone by that name working for it.

A few hours after the news conference, a host on NRANews.com bragged on Twitter that NRANews had a cameraman at the Brady Campaign news event. Footage from the news conference was quickly posted onto the NRA website.

I don’t know how much the undercover poser was paid to sneak into our news conference, but it certainly was too much. If the NRA had called us, we probably would have invited him in for free. I’ve done interviews before for NRA cameras and have no problem making my points to most anyone who asks.

We want the NRA bosses and their backers to hear how their reckless push to undo or prevent sensible gun safety laws puts communities at risk. We urge them to take the information from our news conferences and disseminate it widely to their supporters and friends. It is no secret to millions of Americans that – after years of NRA efforts pushing more guns into more places – gun violence threatens their lives. The facts, as presented at Wednesday’s news conference on state laws, don’t lie.

California topped the Brady Campaign State Scorecard, earning 80 of 100 points for its strong efforts to protect its citizens from gun violence. It also has one of the lowest gun-related death rates – 33rd in the nation – according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The next five highest ranked states on our Scorecard finished 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th and 50th for rate of gun deaths. Perhaps, this is the information that the NRA fears getting out.

Gun safety laws help prevent gun violence. Weak gun laws simply make it easier for dangerous people to get firearms and destroy lives. Because strong laws in one state can be undermined by weak laws in neighboring states, we need action at the federal level as well as the state level to protect the public.

We remain horrified that a young Arizona man who was clearly unstable suspected was able to easily buy a large-capacity ammunition magazine and the gun he used to kill six people and wound 13 others, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson on January 8. Yet, it is chilling that there are no laws in Arizona that might prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.

As the Brady Campaign State Scorecard shows, Arizona has the weakest gun safety laws in the nation, earning a “0″ score along with Alaska and Utah. Everything that the Tucson mass shooter did up until he pulled the trigger at Giffords’ constituency outreach event was legal.

Arizona does not ban, as most top-ranked states do, the purchase of ammunition clips capable of firing multiple rounds. The shooter fired 32 times in 15 seconds.

Loaded concealed weapons can be carried by anyone without a permit in Arizona, so the shooter was able to take a handgun into the midst of a public gathering without anyone seeing the threat coming.

Arizona’s weak background checks and poor record-keeping requirements make it difficult to identify and block people who exhibit behavior that would raise questions on whether they should be permitted to own a firearm or buy ammunition that would allow them to quickly target multiple people.

The NRA bosses pretend such shootings are unrelated to easy access to guns and weak regulations. But there is a connection. Arizona has the worst gun laws in the country and one of the highest gun-related death rates – 9th.

This correlation is also seen in other states that adhere to the NRA agenda of putting more guns and ammunition within easy reach. Alaska, another “0″ state on the Brady Scorecard, has the third-highest gun death rate in the country. The other top five states with high gun death rates – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Nevada – also ranked in the bottom for gun regulations on the Brady Scorecard.

The NRA, for some reason, didn’t choose to air those substantive parts of our news conference, instead just showing some of my opening statements and then putting its own spin on things. The information we presented does not work to the NRA’s advantage. The numbers clearly shows that weak gun laws make citizens vulnerable to gun violence. Polls show Americans want more common sense gun laws, not the free-for-all the NRA promotes.

The NRA doesn’t need to resort to its sneaky tactics of “gotcha TV” to get our information. It’s news we want and need to get it out. We urge lawmakers to take notice, too, of the connection between weak gun regulations and gun deaths – then act to do what most Americans want done. We need a strong background check system, restrictions on assault clips and military-style weapons, more support for law enforcement and other laws that have been shown to make people less vulnerable to gun violence.

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All I would say in response to Mr. Helmke is w-AH.

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Sixteen!

May 4, 2011 by 2 Comments

On the Brady Campaign’s recently released “scorecard”, North Carolina scored a 16 out of 100 points total. While this contrasts well with states like California, New York, and Massachusetts which score 80, 62, and 65 respectively, it sucks compared to other Southeastern states such as South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. They all score 10 points or less.

Now if we could get HB 111 passed allowing guns in restaurants that serve alcohol and do away with the Jim Crow era pistol purchase permits, the state would almost be at their level.

What I fail to understand is how the Brady’s can give Wisconsin which doesn’t even have a concealed carry permit system an 8 and then give North Carolina with a shall-issue permit system a 16. There is no understanding the gun prohibitionists sometimes.