All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
The SAFE Act continues to erode public confidence in Governor Cuomo. Inside the latest poll are these nuggets:
Chuck Schumer held a “rally” outside his Manhattan office yesterday which the Daily News was more than happy to cover.
Close inspect of their photographs reveals the astroturf nature of the protesters. If the professionally printed signs weren’t obvious enough, “Bococa for Action” is written on one. They’re a bunch of Obama zombies.
Yet another astroturf effort, “Hunters’ group tries to chart new course on guns“:
“Gaspar Perricone got a child-size .22-caliber rifle for his first birthday. In high school, he went duck hunting before class and stowed his shotgun in his pickup. Then he went to work for a Democratic U.S. senator and formed a group to promote hunting and fishing issues …”
Right off the bat, this is a red flag.
“… The group Perricone co-founded with another former aide to Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, The Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance, took the unusual step this month of releasing a poll that showed wide support among hunters for universal background checks …”
Democrat party functionaries release a poll showing support for Democrat proposals. Shocking!
“… Perricone followed up with a piece in the Washington-based publication Politico arguing for such a plan. And he met with President Barack Obama during the Democrat’s trip to Denver this month to promote Colorado’s state-level gun-control initiatives …”
Democrat party functionaries meet with Democrat politicians to promote Democrat proposals. Even more shocking!
“… “We are pro-gun, there’s no two ways about that,” Perricone, 29, said recently in an interview, stressing that his group opposes bans on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. “But we’re also mothers and fathers. … We don’t want to see another Newtown.”…”
This is the same old I support the 2nd Amendment, but … line the antis have been using for years. Can’t they come up with something new?
Notice, too, the typical leftist tactic of changing the subject. Instead of explicitly stating he is for more gun control, Perricone changes the subject to something which sounds much less controversial, but which still implicitly advocates the original hardcore gun control position.
“… Perricone and [Tim] Mauck founded Bull Moose in February 2010. Within months, its political wing spent $117,000 to help Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado fend off a Republican challenger in November … The group spent $17,000 helping Democrat Martin Heinrich win a Senate seat in New Mexico last year … Some gun enthusiasts have speculated that Bull Moose is simply a well-funded outfit that pretends to represent grass roots while pushing an agenda favored by its financial backers …”
No kidding.
As if all this wasn’t enough, BMSA is tied to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership which was founded by a large grant from Pew Charitable Trusts. TRCP had served as incubator for the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance which itself was founded in part to give political cover to pro-union, but often antigun, Democrat candidates.
How many more of these phony front groups do the antis have to create before it sinks in that gun owners ain’t buying any of this?
Gov. Cuomo believes it is his job to offend people:
“Gun control for me was a difficult vote. I offended people on the gun control vote but that’s why I’m here …I believe it with every cell in my body it will save lives …”
Being a dick is not a job requirement for Governor of New York. This seems to be the root of his problem.
Legislative Report #6 is now online.
Antigunners just don’t get it:
“… Gun control advocates woke up Thursday morning still licking their wounds … The 2014 elections may be a year and a half away, but one of the chief fault lines has now been drawn. “We’re going to take the long view in this fight,” said Mark Kelly, Giffords’ husband and the co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions, their gun control group. “We’re going continue to talk about common-sense solutions that respect our Second Amendment rights … We’re going to make sure that people all over the country know how their senator voted on this.” …”
That is what killed the bill in the first place, the promise by the NRA to hold Senators accountable for their votes.
What stopped gun control in the Senate?
“… Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia says there would have been 70 votes for the plan to expand background checks for gun buyers. But the NRA said it would include the gun vote on report cards that show whether candidates support gun rights …”
In other words, if Senators would not be held accountable, it would have past. As I told the WNYC reporter this morning:
“… Claims that the NRA bought the failed gun control vote with campaign contributions is absurd, according to Jacob Rieper, the vice president of legislative and political affairs with the New York Pistol and Rifle Association, New York’s NRA affiliate. “Voters value NRA endorsements,” he said. “The NRA represents literally millions of people around the country and that’s why they win. People like their endorsements.” …”
Apparently Mayor Bloomberg’s threat that Senators would “face the consequences of their actions in the next elections” doesn’t have a similar value.
Behold and laugh at the antigun meltdown.
“Today’s vote is a damning indictment of the stranglehold that special interests have on Washington. More than 40 U.S. senators would rather turn their backs on the 90 percent of Americans who support comprehensive background checks than buck the increasingly extremist wing of the gun lobby …”
“The Senate’s failure to pass a bipartisan measure that is supported by the vast majority of American people is a sad statement on the power of extremists to stand in the way of reason and common sense …”
“The failure to pass even the most basic measures to expand background checks for gun sales, despite near-universal support from the American people, is a disgrace …”
“… When you’re in NYC, it’s hard to realize how powerful the NRA is …”
.@samsteinhp The industry and its front group, the National Rearm-felons Association, doesn’t make $$ denying guns to straw purchasers.
— NYS A/M Kavanagh (@BrianKavanaghNY) April 17, 2013
Gov. Cuomo makes a last ditch effort to save gun control as a national issue.
Gov Cuomo has signed onto a letter urging US Senate to pass amendment to gun bill S.649 requiring background checks on all gun purchases
— Legislative Gazette (@AlbanyLG) April 17, 2013
The result?
The amendment goes down 54-46. 60 votes were needed to break a filibuster.
“Today, the misguided Manchin–Toomey–Schumer proposal failed in the U.S. Senate. This amendment would have criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens, requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution. As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools.”
The State has responded to our request for an injunction:
“… Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Ahlstrom wrote in court papers that the claims have no merit. He noted the motion was filed late Monday, three months after the law passed, undercutting any argument of “perceived imminent harm.” Ahlstrom asked for 60 days to respond to the injunction request, instead of an expedited schedule he said would deprive government lawyers of adequate time to submit papers “in defense of this landmark statute.” “The one-sided presentation proposed by plaintiffs is no orderly way to litigate important constitutional issues or to resolve a motion that seeks to enjoin duly enacted state legislation” Ahlstrom wrote …”
Why would they need 60 days to respond when they could not bother to wait just three days for the bills to age before pushing it through the legislature? If the Governor can use a message of necessity why can’t we?