All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Yet another corrupt state legislator goes down, Senator Shirley Huntley. What is interesting is this remark from her lawyer:
“… [Attorney Sally Butler] claimed Huntley told prosecutors she saw “politicians who were receiving . . . bags of money at the elevator” in the Senate building …”
This is funny because on two different occasions I’ve found bills on the floor of the LOB.
When the Journal News tried shaming gun owners by publishing maps to their homes earlier this year, they reportedly lost a third of their subscribers. The Daily News has been on a similar jihad pushing for more gun control laws non-stop since December.
How are things going over there?
“… Two high-profile bylines we’ve confirmed to be among the laid-off Newsers so far are columnists Albor Ruiz and Joanna Molloy, both longtime veterans of the paper … The news of Molloy’s termination was particularly shocking. She’s arguably the most famous writer still at the paper, having helmed its gossip pages for 15 years with her husband, George Rush, who took a buyout in 2010, thus ending their joint column Rush & Molloy, by then a well-established New York institution. Molloy then became a general news columnist, and just last month she was on “Charlie Rose,” holding up copies of the Daily News’ page-one gun-control crusade as an example of why tabloids in general, and the News under Myler’s editorship in particular, were doing important work nobody else could do …”
Perhaps there was a reason others weren’t doing it. Gotta love instant karma.
The antigunners are deeply deluded, “9 Reasons Why Progress on Stronger Gun Laws Is Within Reach“:
Swing-state momentum – “… With advocates for stronger gun laws gaining ground in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Virginia, the prospects nationally are bright …”
This isn’t true. The far left gained control of the CO legislature, but not because of the gun issue. The MAIG mayors in PA are nothing more than a phony front for Mayor Bloomberg and lack any genuine public backing. Citing a single close race in VA does not signal the start of any sort of trend.
Evolving demographics – “… Our country is undergoing a culture shift on guns. While the number of guns in circulation in the country has continued to rise, the percentage of households that own guns has been steadily declining for the past three decades … Not only are fewer young people choosing to own guns than in previous generations, but they are also expressing evolving views on the role of guns in American culture …”
There is a cultural shift from Gun Culture 1.0 to Gun Culture 2.0, but not a shift away from guns themselves.
A new center of gravity – “… This latest wave of organizational development follows a previous effort launched in 2000 by Americans for Gun Safety and other groups to gain traction on gun issues by reframing the issue as one of gun safety rather than gun control … The work of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Americans for Responsible Solutions, and others is an attempt to once again redefine the issue …”
While Mayor Bloomberg’s ego is so large it has its own gravitational field, these so-called organizational developments are just a re-branding of the same, fake astroturf groups which have failed in the past. This is a common leftist tactic used to try and keep their issues fresh.
Widening divide between the NRA leadership and public opinion— even among gun owners – “… It has never been clearer that the NRA leadership does not represent the opinion of most Americans—or even most gun owners. While the NRA leadership opposes any expansion in gun background checks, polls show that between 80 percent and 90 percent of Americans support expanded background checks …”
Those polls are bogus as evidenced by other polls reporting only 6% think gun control is an important issue.
The NRA’s path not followed – “… Once upon a time the NRA was a sportsmen’s organization that focused on marksmanship and hunting and had plans to move its headquarters to Colorado Springs to enhance its focus on recreational shooting activities … In recent years the NRA has taken an increasingly extreme position on every gun policy issue and even on matters that have only a tangential relationship to guns … For the first time in its history, for example, the NRA scored votes on Supreme Court nominees for the nominations of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan … In scoring the nominees, the NRA likely appealed to a base of members who identify with the Tea Party, but it alienated Democrats, independents, and some Republicans who thought that Sotomayor and Kagan were well-qualified nominees …”
Both nominees had public records on the 2A that were unfavorable to individual rights. NRA took no position on any other issue that could come before the court.
Democrats and progressives are re-engaged – “… Democrats once again made fighting gun crime and reducing gun violence a central tenet of the party …”
And the result of this was one of their rising stars, Andrew Cuomo, taking a 20+ point drop in his approval rating and pretty much ending all serious discussion of him running for president.
Recent election results – “… If the conventional wisdom has been that the NRA is an almighty juggernaut that cannot be defeated when it decides to spend money on a campaign, that wisdom failed spectacularly in the 2012 elections …”
The 2012 elections were not about guns. The economy was issue #1.
Closing the intensity gap – “… The polling suggests that the long-held conventional wisdom about the intensity of support on gun issues is no longer valid …”
The intensity of antigun activists has never been in question. Ladd Everitt is undoubtedly very passionate about the issue. He’s also fucking nuts. So are other well known leaders including Joan Peterson and Jason Kilgore. Antis even admit their own leadership is a liability.
The numbers – “… The scale of gun violence—not just mass shootings but the everyday gun massacres that occur across big cities and small towns all over the country—is not abating …”
Actually, it is.
The 3-D printed plastic gun has arrived:
“… Early next week, Wilson, a 25-year-old University of Texas law student and founder of the non-profit group Defense Distributed, plans to release the 3D-printable CAD files for a gun he calls “the Liberator,” … All sixteen pieces of the Liberator prototype were printed in ABS plastic with a Dimension SST printer from 3D printing company Stratasys, with the exception of a single nail that’s used as a firing pin. The gun is designed to fire standard handgun rounds, using interchangeable barrels for different calibers of ammunition …”
Excellent!
Of course, not everyone is happy:
” … Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) renewed his call for passage of his recently-introduced Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act that extends the ban on plastic firearms and includes homemade, plastic high-capacity magazines and receivers. The existing ban on plastic guns expires this year and does not clearly cover these major components … Rep. Israel said, “Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser. When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology appears to be upon us, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms.” …”
That isn’t what he is worried about. The price of quality plastic printers is still high so it is not as if people are going to start churning these things out at home in the immediate future. What Israel is worried about is what happens say 10 years down the road, when the price has gone down to where they are affordable to the masses. Cell phones have been around since the 70s, but it wasn’t until after 2000 they became pervasive. Laser sintering and microwave sintering technologies are also advancing which allow 3-D printing of metal and non-metal objects. This tech too will eventually be affordable to anyone.
At that point, what I believe will happen will be a repeat of what happened in the 90s when the government attempted to keep control of “strong” encryption and the resulting intimidation/persecution of Phil Zimmermann over PGP. That didn’t go well for the government when internet users essentially gave the feds a giant middle finger and they were forced to back down in the late 90s. Now “strong” encryption is available pretty much everywhere. I envision the same thing for printed guns.
You have to give Chuck Schumer credit: He’s very good at being a politician. He can say the most outrageous B.S. with a straight face:
“… “One of the big changes, and one of the reasons that I am truly optimistic we will get something done, is that I am hearing support for gun safety in places I’ve never heard it before,” Schumer told the Daily News. “We’re at a turning point now, even in redder states, the broad middle is now engaged, and saying they want common sense measures,” he added …”
True, he knows the DN isn’t going to question him even though they covered his blatantly obvious astroturf rally a couple weeks ago. Objective journalists would have asked who exactly he’s been talking to considering he’s not even hearing support for gun control from real people outside his downtown Manhattan office.
Hollywood is concerned that there is no exemption in the SAFE Act for them:
“… Officials in the movie and television industry say the new laws could prevent them from using the lifelike assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that they have employed in shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and films like “The Dark Knight Rises.” … Industry workers say that they need to use real weapons for verisimilitude, that it would be impractical to try to manufacture fake weapons that could fire blanks, and that the entertainment industry should not be penalized accidentally by a law intended as a response to mass shootings. “Weapons are part of our history as a culture as humans,” said Ryder Washburn, vice president of the Specialists, a leading supplier of firearms for productions that is based in Manhattan. “To tell stories, you need them.” …”
Que the Sad Trombone.
“… Gun rights activists, who are challenging the new firearm restrictions in court, have mocked the idea of a so-called Hollywood exception. “They’re saying, ‘Why are we being held to this standard when Hollywood is getting a pass, and they’re the ones who are promoting the violence?’ ” said Thomas H. King, the president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association …”
Exactly.
Some Republicans have come out against an exemption:
“… “My concern is why are you doing for Hollywood and others cannot do the same thing?” Skelos said in an interview today. “I don’t believe they should be treated any differently.” …”
Others are attacking the Governor:
“… Assembly Republicans on Tuesday urged the Democratic majority to reduce the $425 million in tax breaks for film productions and restore a $90 million cut to the state Office of People with Developmental Disabilities … Assemblyman Bill Nojay, R-Pittsford, Monroe County, accused Cuomo of pandering to the film industry in exchange for campaign contributions … Nojay said the state is giving $5 million for next year’s Super Bowl in New Jersey and spending $30 million to enforce the gun-control law, which Republicans have opposed …”
True, Cuomo has been sucking up to Hollywood:
“… The governor — still fresh from his victory securing marriage equality in New York — will arrive on December 2 for a reception and dinner co-hosted by Hollywood reliables Rob and Michele Reiner, Steve Bing, Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams, Candy Spelling, Darren Star, Chris Albrecht, Kevin Huvane, and Laura and Casey Wasserman, among others …”
If he was really concerned about “gun violence” then Cuomo should call upon Hollywood to follow his lead. With campaign cash on the table that isn’t going to happen.
The antis analyze why they lost. They still do not get it.
“… We waited too long to rally the troops …”
Untrue. The problem is you have no troops, only astroturf.
“… We cannot persuade a moderate Republican Senator with Democrat activists alone …”
Possibly true, but you had lots of lamestream media supporting the lie that the public wanted more gun control.
“… We won the 2012 election by targeting, targeting, targeting …”
Obama stayed as far away from gun control as possible during the last election.
“… We rely on the online grassroots and ignore the offline grasstops. To persuade a member of Congress, we need to couple serious citizen activists with business, religious and community leaders as well as local elected officials who carry personal weight …”
In other words, you want more astroturf, not less.
“… We didn’t distribute serious talking points to our email subscribers …”
That’s only because you don’t have any serious talking points. The antis rely on ignorance, incompetence and intimidation. They have no facts to back up their position which is why neither Cuomo nor Obama wanted to have legislative debate on the bills.
“… Instead of organizing a few major events or protests we delight in encouraging everyone to stage their own, with no cohesive messaging strategy …”
You cannot have major events with only astroturf.
“… We rely far, far, far, far, far too much on the email petition …”
Possibly true, but likely not relevant due to the obvious astroturf nature of the antigun organizations.
“… When we use email to urge our activists to phone Congress, we send them to the phones with too little background information and no tips on how to lobby Republican staff …”
Possibly true, but also likely not relevant due to astroturf again. Politicians know the difference between genuine public interest organizations and phony front groups.
“… Even the best players on our team were curiously inept …”
No, they’re batshit nuts.
“… We encouraged folks from out of state to pile on …”
Irrelevant given that MAIG was only able to generate 4000 calls in support of gun control.
“… Very few groups bothered to thank the folks that supported us in the losing effort; the right was all over it, they take care to give praise when it is due …”
Irrelevant given that leftist media were slobbering all over the antis who voted.
“… The Tea Party ramped up an effort to lobby House members in the days before the Senate vote. We didn’t do crap …”
Astroturf cannot do anything but crap. Plus, the leftist media was going all out for gun control. What stopped them were real grassroots gunnies and a general public that was not interested in the gun control agenda.
H/T: SNBQ.
An interesting admission from the Cuomo administration:
“… Cuomo administration officials strongly objected to the premise that the governor’s drop in upstate polls has anything to do with issues beyond gun control. And the notion that he is focusing on left-leaning issues is driven by the media, they insist. The Cuomo officials noted all polls showed a similar finding: His upstate numbers began going down in January after the gun bill’s passage. “It’s all guns,” a Cuomo official said …”
This is the most blunt acknowledgement I’ve seen from his camp as to the political damage SAFE has done to Cuomo. The next two questions from the media should be:
“… One state lawmaker in a Republican region said constituents rarely had anything bad to say about Cuomo the first couple years. They forgave him on the gay marriage issue, said the lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the gun control law unleashed negative feelings about Cuomo at every constituent event the lawmaker is attending these days. And the complaints center around a feeling that Cuomo needs to return to what he said would be his administration’s focus: jobs, jobs, jobs …”
This is true. Gay marriage just wasn’t that big of a deal to people regardless of their personal opinions on the issue. Guns, however, are a big deal to an activist segment of the population that most certainly is not confined to upstate, something that the NYC media refuses to acknowledge in spite of the outrage the Journal News created with their map of pistol license holders and the resulting boycott which I understand cost the paper a third of their subscribers.
Probably the most insulting thing is that Cuomo absolutely, positively will not acknowledge guns for self-defense:
“… The SAFE Act is designed to keep military-style assault weapons that have the potential to cause the greatest harm out of our communities while still respecting New York’s long tradition of hunting and sport shooting …”
He is not helping himself saying things like this.