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Courtesy of those wildly inventive folks on the CalGuns Forum. By the way, the small print in the corner says “Parody not to be taken seriously”.
Brady Campaign
“Assault Clips”?
The newest ad campaign from the Brady Campaign.
With their attack on “assault clips”, the Brady Campaign is responsible for more sales of Glock 18 magazines and their clones than probably any other factor since the beginning of the year. I know I bought 5 Korean Glock 18 clones a couple of months ago – and I don’t even own a 9mm Glock!
As for the Brady Campaign’s new video, I think the slogan should be:
The Brady Campaign. Promoting Poor Marksmanship Since 1974.
Obama Heard Us! Or Maybe Not.
The Brady Campaign is famous for trying to make mountains out of molehills. So it is with their release regarding President Barack Obama’s op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star which may or may not have called for background checks for private sales depending on how you read it. They are claiming that Obama heard their plea to “lead a national conversation” on gun control. Or as they put it, gun violence.
While they may want to portray it as from their lips to Obama’s ears, when you have a line in the op-ed that says, “Some will say that anything short of the most sweeping anti-gun legislation is a capitulation to the gun lobby”, I don’t think he was paying too much attention to your calls for more bans, background checks, etc.
Paul Helmke Statement Regarding President Obama’s Op-Ed On Gun Control
Mar 13, 2011WASHINGTON, D.C. — Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke today issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s Sunday op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star, titled, “We Must Reach Agreement on Gun Reforms”:
“Strengthening the background check system for gun purchasers has been the signature issue for the Brady Campaign since the shooting of Jim Brady during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan 30 years ago this month. The efforts of Jim and Sarah Brady, along with countless others, finally resulted in the Brady Law which went into effect just 17 years ago and requires federally licensed gun dealers to do background checks.
“Since that time, we have worked to make the Brady background check system more effective by strengthening the definitions of those who had already shown themselves to be too dangerous or irresponsible to own guns; by pushing for legislation to encourage states to send more records into the Brady database; and by working to close the loophole that allows private sellers to sell guns to strangers without a background check, something exploited primarily at gun shows around the country. These efforts helped lead to domestic violence abusers being blocked from buying guns and to the creation of new incentives, after Virginia Tech, for states to add their records of mentally dangerous individuals to the computer database.
“Less than a week after the shootings in Tucson, the Brady Campaign called on President Obama to lead a national conversation about preventing gun violence. With the op-ed published in the Arizona Daily Star, we believe that President Obama has heard our plea on behalf of the 100,000 Americans injured and killed by guns each year, including the more than 2,000 who have died by guns since Congresswoman Giffords and those with her were attacked on January 8. We are looking forward to working with him to engage the nation, and our Congress, on how to protect more Americans from the threat of gun violence.
“The Brady Campaign agrees with President Obama that we can stanch the bloodshed, while still respecting Second Amendment rights. We agree with him that it makes no sense for dangerous people to be able to arm themselves so easily. While more needs to be done to make our communities safer, this is the most significant statement from the White House on gun violence prevention in over a decade.
“We should all, regardless of party or ideology, be working, as the President said, on ‘preventing future bloodshed’ and forging ‘a nation worthy of our children’s futures’. “
Common-sense Measures – Depends On Who You Ask
The Brady Campaign put out a press release today commemorating the 17th anniversary of the effective date of the Brady Law. They claim almost 1.8 million supposed criminals, wife beaters, and mentally-ill persons were stopped by the Brady Law from purchasing firearms from FFL’s over this 17 year time period.
To commemorate the 17th anniversay, Paul Helmke has released a list of 17 “common-sense” gun control measures that he would like to see passed. They all can be “easily and quickly can be put in place to reduce gun violence.”
The List:
•Close the” Gun Show” Loophole: Extend Brady Background Checks to All Gun Purchases
•Close the Terror Gap: Prohibit Gun Sales to Suspected Terrorists
•Stop the Sale of Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines (aka Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes)
•Restore Justice to Gun Violence Victims: Repeal the Gun Industry Legal Protection Act
•Repeal Tiahrt Restrictions on Disclosure of Crime Gun Data
•Require Licensing of Gun Owners and Registration of Gun Purchases
•Strengthen ATF Authority to Regulate Gun Dealers and Crack Down on Corrupt Dealers
•Require Gun Owners to Report Lost or Stolen Guns
•Improve the National Violent Death Reporting System Date, and restore firearms research funding for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
•Restrict Large-Volume Gun Sales
•Require Licensed Dealers to Adopt Safeguards to Prevent Gun Thefts
•Require Licensed Dealers to Perform Background Checks on Employees
•Prohibit The Transfer of Gun Inventory Without Background Checks After a Dealer’s License Has Been Revoked
•Prohibit Gun Possession by People Convicted of Violent Misdemeanors
•Prohibit Gun Possession by Persons Convicted of Violent Acts as Juveniles
•Repeal the 24-hour Brady Record Destruction Requirement
•Support new technologies to help law enforcement more effectively trace crime guns and supporting development of safety features to childproof guns
Just reading through the list I learned new words. For example, I didn’t know that my standard capacity AR-15 magazines were actually Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes. Somehow I doubt the MidwayUSA catalog will have a category for Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes.
Moreover, I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Brady Campaign has taken upon itself to speak for NRA members. At least that is what the Brady Campaign claims:
Most Americans, law enforcement officials and a majority of NRA members agree with the Brady Campaign’s goal to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of criminals, domestic abusers, the dangerously mentally-ill and others who should not have them. None of these 17 recommendations would prevent or impede law-abiding citizens from owning firearms.
What the Brady Campaign forgot to report was how many battered spouses were killed by their abusers in the pre-NICS era of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act due to the five-day waiting period. I guess inconvenient details such as that don’t make for good PR.
Brady Campaign Outraged, Outraged I Say!
It is obvious that the Brady Campaign is upset over the House vote to cut funding for implementation of the “emergency” reporting requirement of semi-auto rifles in a caliber larger than .22 with a detachable magazine.
You know that are upset because they say they are outraged! Oh, my.
Brady Campaign Outraged Over House Vote To Kill Funds To Curb Illegal Gun Trafficking
Helmke testifies before House Forum
Feb 24, 2011
Washington, D.C.- Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke today expressed outrage over the U. S. House of Representatives’ vote last Friday to stop any funds from being used for an Obama Administration proposal to curb gun-trafficking, focused particularly on semi-automatic rifles, from the U.S. to Mexico.
Helmke spoke this morning at the forum on the Impact of Budget Proposals on Justice, Job Creation, Public Safety and Civil Liberties, held in Room 2237 of the Rayburn Building and chaired by Congressman John Conyers, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Helmke was seated at a roundtable with Rep. Conyers and the leaders of 15 other groups affected by HR1, the funding resolution voted on by the House last Friday and Saturday. Helmke began by noting that others present might wonder what reducing gun violence had to do with the budget process. He explained that the amendment by Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma, which passed on by a vote of 277-149, would prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from getting reports on multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles from the four states bordering Mexico.
This amendment was attached to the budget at the behest of the NRA and House agreed to limit the Obama administration’s authority after only 10 minutes of debate. Even though the Department of Justice had been going through a formal rule-making process, the House decided to derail that process just three days after the period for comments on the rules had closed.
“Not only are we ignoring gun violence in our country, we are contributing to the disintegration of the nation directly on our southern border,” Helmke said. “The ATF is already woefully under-funded, understaffed, and leaderless. Making the work of these agents harder will do nothing to decrease the violence we have seen from the drug cartels, which is taking more lives on both sides of the border.”
Under the Obama Administration proposal, 8,500 gun dealers near the U.S.-Mexico border would be required to alert authorities when they sell two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22-caliber with detachable magazines to the same person within five consecutive business days.
“Our weak gun laws have enabled ruthless Mexican drug cartels to arm themselves with vast military arsenals from American gun dealers, who sell traffickers countless AK-47s and AR-15s in bulk,” added Helmke. “Our leaders in Congress need to explain why they want to shield these sales from law enforcement.”
On February 15, the Brady Center filed comments in support of the Obama Administration proposal to require gun dealers in Southwest border states to provide notice of bulk sales of semi-automatic long guns to the ATF. The proposal would assist law enforcement with investigating and curbing the rampant trafficking of AK-47s and other guns from U.S. gun stores to Mexican drug cartels. Current law requires that ATF be notified of multiple sales of handguns only.
What makes Paul Helmke think that this “emergency” regulation would make a dent in the violence in Mexico when the ATF knowingly allowed suspicious sales to go through and then lost track of an estimated 2,500 firearms? The man is in denial.
Brady Campaign On Multi-Rifle Sales Reporting
Not to be outdone by the thousands of negative comments opposing the ATF’s proposal to require the reporting of multiple sales of certain rifles, the Brady Campaign filed one of the few positive comments in support of the proposal.
Brady Center files comments supporting Obama Administration plan to curb gun trafficking
Feb 15, 2011
Washington, DC – The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed comments late today in support of an Obama Administration proposal to require gun dealers in Southwest border states to provide notice of bulk sales of semi-automatic long guns to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The proposal would assist law enforcement with investigating and curbing the rampant trafficking of AK-47s and other guns from U.S. gun stores to Mexican drug cartels. Current law requires that ATF be notified of multiple sales of handguns only.
The Brady Center’s President, Paul Helmke stated:
“Our weak gun laws have enabled ruthless Mexican drug cartels to arm themselves with vast military arsenals from American gun dealers, who sell traffickers countless AK-47s and AR-15s in bulk. As a result, our gun violence epidemic has become not just a public safety and public health crisis in the U.S., but a national security and foreign policy crisis as well. While our friends in Mexico have fought bravely against these U.S.-armed drug criminals, the Mexican government has asked Washington to bring some sanity to our gun laws, making it harder for dangerous people to get weapons of war. We strongly support the Obama Administration’s proposal to provide law enforcement with notice of bulk sales of semi-automatic long guns. This important anti-gun trafficking tool is a first step of what should be a comprehensive approach to prevent gun violence in Mexico, and in America.”
The letter they sent can be found here. Unlike the comments from the NRA and the NSSF (and thousands of individuals, nowhere in the Brady Campaign’s letter do you see any legal justification for this action. You read anecdotal stories about how this guy or that guy bought X number of evil black rifles or the Commie equivalent. You also get this nonsensical claim:
Assault weapons, as opposed to hunting rifles, are commonly equipped with features that have no sporting value, such as high-capacity ammunition magazines, flash suppressors and pistol grips, which facilitate shooting from the hip.
One statement that I found quite ironic in light of the revelations about Operation Gunrunner was this:
Under current law, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) and other law enforcement, have neither the tools nor the resources to adequately stem the flow of trafficked guns.
ATF has the tools and resources as shown by the documents released by Senator Chuck Grassley. It is just that some in ATF have decided to facilitate guns going to Mexico so that they can be traced back to the U.S. Unfortunately, two of those same rifles are implicated in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. I wonder how the Bradys would chose to spin that.
Politicizing The Tucson Shooting Even More
From reading this Brady Campaign press release, it looks like they and their fellow traveler friends are pushing the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the Tucson shooting.
Gun Violence Prevention Groups Applaud Push For Congressional Hearings On Tucson Shootings
Jan 28, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – National gun violence prevention groups applauded a written request made today by the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee calling for a hearing to address gun violence in the wake of the shootings in Tucson, AZ that killed six and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
“Congress for too long has ignored the 30,000 Americans killed and another 70,000 injured by gun violence every year,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “Now is the time for action. We are grateful that the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are pushing the House leadership to hold hearings on gun violence. It’s the right thing to do for our nation, and for the way too many families and communities that suffer from gun violence.”
The letter requests a hearing that is narrowly tailored to address specific weaknesses with our gun laws that permit shootings like the one in Tucson to take place. “The Arizona shooting is only the latest is a long line of mass killings made possible by easy access to large capacity ammunition magazines,” said Kristen Rand, Legislative Director of the Violence Policy Center. “Congress can help prevent tragedies like Tucson from occurring by adopting simple and reasonable proposals like Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s legislation, H.R. 308.”
The Judiciary Democrats urged Chairman Lamar Smith to convene a hearing sometime within the next month. “Chairman Smith has a real opportunity to make a difference here,” said Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “Once Congress realizes that this is not a Left/Right issue but a Right/Wrong issue maybe we can usher some sanity back into the debate about our nation’s broken gun laws.”
Horwitz may be correct that this is a Right/Wrong issue but not in the way he wants you to think. It is wrong to push laws that would have had no impact in Tucson except to further burden the rest of us law-abiding gun owners. It would be right for Congressman Smith to tell them to take hike.
Here is a link to the House Judiciary Committee website with a list of the members. Just a quick look at the Democrat members and I see many who are listed as co-sponsors of HR 308. To expect them to not politicize the hearings is like expecting the sun to set in the East. It ain’t going to happen. I would suggest if your Congressman is on this list to send them an email saying you oppose this effort.
UPDATE: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says no hearings. According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Smith said:
Smith, in his response, said the committee should review the database, known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System “at the appropriate time.” But hearings now might affect criminal proceedings in which Loughner’s “mental status is likely to be a key issue,” he said.
“Jared Loughner has not been found to be mentally ill,” Smith said. “It is inappropriate for Congress to hold hearings on NICS that presume otherwise while Loughner is facing trial.”
Imagine that – a politician who believes enough in the rule of law and fair trials that he won’t allow grandstanding in the committee he chairs.
As to the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, 10 out of the 16 are co-sponsors of McCarthy’s HR 308.
History Wasn’t Made
Yesterday, Dennis Henigan of the Brady Campaign called on President Obama to “make history on guns” in his State of the Union speech.
Since the tragic shooting in Tucson, President Obama has been a force for healing, recovery and reconciliation. As a nation, we were reeling. He steadied us. The President has been a profile in understanding and empathy.
He now needs to be a profile in courage.
In his State of the Union speech tomorrow night, he needs to talk about guns.
I can imagine the voices advising him to do nothing of the kind. They have been telling him to avoid the gun issue for two years. After Tucson, however, everything is different. Their arguments now ring especially hollow.
From my reading of the text of Obama’s State of the Union address, I don’t see the word “firearm”, “gun”, or “magazine.” I only see Gabby Giffords mentioned once and Tucson mentioned three times. I even see Forsyth Tech (aka The University of Silas Creek)* in Winston-Salem, North Carolina mentioned more than anything to do with guns.
So for poor Dennis and the rest of his fellow travelers all I can say is that history wasn’t made. Obama did listen to those other voices telling him to avoid the gun issue.
* Forsyth Technical Community College is located on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem.
Shilling For Lautenberg’s Gun Proposals
The Brady Campaign is already shilling for bills that Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is introducing. According to the Library of Congress’ Thomas legislation tracker, none of his anti-gun, anti-rights legislation has been officially introduced.
Jan 25, 2011
Washington, D.C. – The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence today announced strong support for a package of legislative proposals introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). The three bills seek to close loopholes in federal gun laws and restrict civilian access to large capacity ammunition magazines.
“This important package of legislation is straightforward, reasonable, and long overdue,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. “We have only a few federal gun laws on the books, and even those have loopholes which allow dangerous people to get firearms all too easily.”
Sen. Lautenberg’s bills would strengthen the Brady background check system by closing the gun show loophole; prevent suspected terrorist from gaining access to firearms; and ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.
The package of bills comes during a month that has seen horrific examples of gun violence. Fourteen police officers have been shot to death in the past four weeks, and a tragic shooting in Tucson, AZ left six dead and wounded thirteen others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).
Sen. Lautenberg’s bill banning large capacity magazines is identical to a bill offered last week by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). It would reinstate a ban, lapsed since 2004, on the type of ammunition magazines used by the shooter in Tucson. The House bill has already garnered 64 cosponsors.
“There is no legitimate reason for civilians to have 30-round magazines,” continued Helmke. “They aren’t useful for hunting or self defense. And in the hands of dangerous people, they can cause unspeakable damage.”
As to Helmke’s comments that standard capacity magazines aren’t useful for self-defense, what utter bullshit. Let him tell that to a guy who is defending his family against home invaders and see what the home owner’s response will be.
UPDATE: Lautenberg’s S. 32, S. 34, and S. 35 have been introduced into the Senate and have been referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Helmke On ABC’s Topline
Paul Helmke was a guest on ABC New’s Topline webcast on Friday. The interview with Helmke starts at about the 4:22 mark.
The best part of the interview was when Jonathan Karl asks Helmke, “Why have you guys been losing this debate for so long?” Helmke never answered the question and admitted their high watermark for gun control was in the first two years of the Clinton Administration.
Unlike most media interviews, Helmke is not let off easily. Karl notes that the 111th Congress seemed the most pro-NRA in his memory even though it was so Democratic. He later questions Helmke on his insistence that the public want more gun control saying “47% (of a poll) is a mandate for more gun control?”
When Helmke says that the Democratic Caucus is more favorable now towards gun control because those Democrats “who played footsy with the NRA lost”, Karl responds that while they may be more pro-gun control there are a lot less Democrats than before.
