All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Assembly debate over the microstamping bill did not happen today. The bill has been on 3rd Reading since January so the only reason I can see for wanting public discussion is waning support for the bill in the lower house.
To be helpful, I sent out a statewide press release, “Schimel’s Gun Control Proposal Lacks Public Support.“
Microstamping bill A-1157B is on the Assembly Debate List for today. The session is scheduled to start at 1:30pm with a live feed available here.
I cannot recall any other gun control bill being put on the debate list in the Assembly in the past 20 years. This is another sign the antis are having problems bringing it to the floor for a vote. Michelle Schimel must be getting desperate.
Some speculation that Mitt Romney could name his running mate before the GOP convention, “Romney could pick VP early, and cash in often“:
“This year, there is at least a small chance that Republican Mitt Romney might break with tradition and name his vice presidential choice earlier in the summer … The tradition is to announce the No. 2 around the time of the convention to inspire grassroots activists and seek maximum publicity for the final two-month push to the November 6 election. But in this case, the Romney team has discussed whether to announce the pick a few weeks earlier to generate buzz for his campaign during August and help raise campaign funds …”
While those may be valid reasons for announcing his pick early, a much better reason is to shore up his lackluster support among traditional GOP constituencies, including gun owners. Being the anti-Obama candidate is probably not enough to motivate undecided and independent voters to turn out and vote on election day. People would much rather have someone they support on the ballot, as opposed to just a choice between the lesser of two evils.
A good VP pick, with solid pro-gun credentials (not Chris Christie), would go a long way in helping Romney win this November.
In spite of having more than twice the money and a party enrollment advantage of more than 3-1, Democrat NYC Councilman Lew Fidler lost to newcomer Republican David Storobin in the SD-27 special election by 16 votes.
This is especially amusing as Fidler’s campaign paid for a pro-gun control mailer to the district which angered one of our members sufficiently enough to go out an vote against him.
When I first saw yesterday’s tweet about the Governor and microstamping I naturally assumed the worst. After reading this story in the Daily News and seeing the video of the press conference where the topic comes up, I believe this was probably just a set up done by NYAGV with the help of their friends at the Daily News.
Jump to the 9:15 mark to see where the reporter asks about microstamping.
“Cuomo says he’d like to see microstamping bill passed, but he doesn’t expect it to happen any time soon.”
Mitt Romney is now officially the Republican candidate for president. The lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy is still palatable.
I received a free bumpersticker from his campaign in today’s mail: Romney. Believe in America.
Believing in America is not the problem. Believing in Romney is.
National Review has a good article on how conservatives can keep Mitt Romney in line, “Romney and the Right.” If you go through it and replace “conservative” with “pro-gun” you can get a sense of what we’re dealing with this election. Some examples:
“This November, millions of [pro-gunners] will find themselves in the familiar position of holding their noses to vote for a problematic Republican presidential candidate, because the alternative is far worse …”
“… it is important for [pro-gunners] to make it clear early that they will have no qualms about criticizing Romney if he doesn’t run and govern as a [pro-gunner], although they will gladly give him their support when he earns it …”
“… If Romney is convinced that [pro-gunners] will enthusiastically support him no matter what, then he’ll make the calculation that he has room to migrate [antigun] during the general-election campaign and throughout a potential presidency. But if he feels uneasy about his support among [pro-gunners], he’s much more likely to run and govern [pro-gun] …”
This is the way NRA should explain it to the membership. Their “All In” BS isn’t going to motivate anyone.
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, and their mouthpieces at the Daily News, are promoting an “investigation” they did regarding both Remington and Kimber receiving economic development grants from the state and are somehow trying to link this with microstamping:
“… Two gun-makers who have opposed a police-favored bill for bullet microstamping received more than $6 million in state economic development funds since 2009, the Daily News has learned. Most of the grant money, $5.6 million, went to the Remington Arms Company, which threatened recently to leave New York if the state passes a microstamping measure … The taxpayer-funded economic development dough was intended to create jobs — but Kimber Manufacturing in Yonkers, a recipient of $700,000 in grants, warned in a recent letter to Cuomo that micro-stamping would lead to an increase in production costs, which could in turn jeopardize job safety for some workers … The economic investment comes as Mayor Bloomberg, a major backer of microstamping, has railed against the scourge of illegal firearms in the city …”
And their point would be, what? New York gives out all sorts of development grants to companies who, unlike NYAGV, employ hundreds/thousands of skilled workers who make the economy work. There was no need to file freedom of information requests for the information. I’ve seen it mentioned on government websites and in the media before. It’s not like anyone is trying to hide something here. Just use Google, Yahoo or Bing.
In fact, guess who is responsible for Remington getting government contracts to make M24s and M4s for the military at the Illion plant? Chuck Schumer, that’s who.
From Schumer’s office, “Schumer announces Remington Arms Company set to receive $8.9 million Army Contract“:
“Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced the Remington Arms Company is set to receive $8.9 million from the U.S. Army to manufacture 1,212 M24 sniper rifles used by servicemen and women serving in Afghanistan. The funding is part of a federal contract through the Army Foreign Military Sales program. All of the production of the M24 sniper rifles will take place at Remington Arms’ Ilion facility by local employees, strengthening Remington’s position as a major regional employer …”
From the Observer-Dispatch, “Remington Arms lands $83.9M project, adding up to 50 jobs“:
“Remington Arms has been awarded an $83.9 million contract that will create up to 50 jobs in the community, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s Office confirmed Saturday. The contract is for manufacturing more than 100,000 M-4 rifles for the U.S. Army and also will allow the plant to buy new equipment and expand its facility, Schumer said … A year ago, Remington Arms announced it would hire about 150 new employees in order to fold operations previously performed at other plants …”
Funny how both NYAGV and the DN fail to mention this.
What does all this have to do with microstamping? Nothing. Gun control has been getting increasingly unpopular in Albany and this absurd attempt to link these things together shows just how desperate the antis have become.
Guns are going to be an issue in the CD-27 Republican primary between party nominee Chris Collins and challenger David Bellavia:
“David Bellavia, a Republican candidate for Congress, announced a “Second Amendment Coalition” on Monday, a day when he also criticized his Republican rival, Chris Collins, for his previous participation in what Bellavia said was an anti-gun group. Collins, the Erie County executive for four years from 2008 until 2011, said he was mistaken when he joined County Executives Against Illegal Guns …”
CEAIG was a MAIG offshoot created by then Westchester Co. Exec. Andy Spano as a vehicle to promote Mayor Bloomberg’s agenda.
“… Collins said he was new to the county executive’s job when he approved participation in the group …”
Saying he didn’t know what he was doing helps to explain why he lost that job after only one term last year.
“… Collins said he is “the strongest advocate” of the Second Amendment, and he vowed he would have an “A plus-plus” rating from the National Rifle Association if he is elected to Congress …”
That’s an old rating he had from way back when he first tried running for Congress back in ’98. He should not count on it again now that he has a public record on the issue.