Showing posts with label Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Show all posts

Thursday, January 10, 2013

We have a new standard bearer for gun control…Gabrielle Giffords

Gabby Giffords is the former Arizona U.S. Representative who was shot by Jared Loughner along with 18 others, 6 of which died, at a public meeting in a Tucson supermarket parking lot in January of 2011.  Giffords has been going through a very slow recuperation process with the help of her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly.  She and Kelly decided to announce a new gun control movement on the second anniversary of the shooting.


Gabby Giffords/Mark Kelly

Their new organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, hopes to launch “a new era in the battle over gun rights in America.”  In a USA op-ed, the two were very clear about their goal: “to counter the influence of the gun lobby.”  I interpret this as saying that Giffords and Kelly will spell out just how bad Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) have been misrepresenting the gun rights issue for years.  It’s time to shove it down their throats.

Giffords and Kelly’s efforts will add further support to organizations like the Brady Campaign and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.  It was reported that the NRA spent over $24 million in the 2012 election to elect gun rights candidates and defeat gun control candidates.  In comparison, the Brady campaign spent $5,800.  ARS hopes to balance this with financial support that will take the fear out of politicians who have been intimidated by the NRA.

Here’s a quote from Giffords and Kelly:

"Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties. Rather than conducting a dialogue, they threaten those who divert from their orthodoxy with political extinction."

This is a clear signal aimed at the gun rights groups, particularly LaPierre’s NRA, that they can no longer hide behind the 2nd Amendment and the absolutist position they claim for guns by the Constitution.  It ain’t valid so quit insulting the gun control advocacy with this ridiculous argument and start negotiating like most rational human beings do.  LaPierre can start by ceasing the threats regularly hurled at Congress if they don’t vote the NRA way.

Wacky Wayne has made it clear that to solve the gun violence problem he wants more guns, not less.  He said, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."  Kelly sees this different.  When Giffords was shot, a “good guy” came out of a store next door to the Safeway and almost shot the man who took down Jared Loughner.  In Arizona, gun owners are not required to have any training to own and use firearms.

To illustrate the extremism of the gun rights movement, Councilman Steve Kozachik held a “Cash for Guns” buy-back outside a Tucson police station.  Nearby, Arizona Republican State Sen. Frank Antenori held an unregulated and legal marketplace to buy guns.  Kozachik said, "We have a fundamental hole in the private sales of guns. You can walk up right in front of a cop and buy a gun, no background check, nothing."  Only in Arizona.

Kozachik said that he had been receiving threats by phone and emails trying to shut the gun buy-back down.  Antenori’s concern was that the $50 offered per gun was too small, “it amounted to theft.”  And then Todd Rathner, an Arizona lobbyist and national NRA board member threatened to sue because he thought it was illegal for police to destroy the guns.  Both Antenori and Todd are but two of a gang of Arizona gun nuts that have made the state a national laughing stock.

And now Vice President Joe Biden, placed in charge by the President of getting gun control legislation passed, is saying that Obama is exploring executive privilege to stop the gun violence.  More on this later.  But the Giffords/Kelly movement couldn’t come at a better time and will certainly be welcomed by all gun control advocates.  It’s about time.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

GOP Party Platform the height of arrogance on gun rights

When you think you have reached the epitome of gun rights demands by the gun nuts—they, along with the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), have gutted gun control laws for the last few years—here comes an election and the Republicans are demanding even broader gun rights.  I can’t imagine what is left to gain other than the possibility that we establish an open air market where anyone can go, 24/7, and purchase a gun, taking it anywhere they want to.

Romney VP, Paul Ryan "packing"
I can see it now.  On the front row of displays will be an assortment of assault weapons and magazine clips that hold 100 or more rounds.  Behind that an array of handguns designed to kill with just one shot.  All for self-defense, of course.  Gun vendors would exclaim how the NRA has finally won its battle for gun rights and from now on everyone from Paul Ryan to a James Holmes can own the weapon of his or her choice and do with it as they choose.  NRA Nirvana.

To hell with human life like the lives lost in gun carnage from Columbine to the Wisconsin Sikh Temple.  And these are just the ones that get the attention.  Look at Chicago recently; hardly a day goes by without multiple killings.  Since March I have documented shootings in the U.S. with results of 1,056 shootings leaving 432 dead; these figures are very conservative coming only from the media.  The CDC reports 31,347 gun deaths annually, 10.2 per 100,000 population.

The above alone is reason enough to re-elect Barack Obama, even though he hasn’t come out forcefully enough for gun control, while at the same time knowing we will get nothing, zero, from the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan gang.

Gun control advocates call it an “audacious” answer to those calling for more regulation after the mass shootings.  I call it pure disdain for those killed and wounded at the mercy of loose guns, and a highly insulting slap in the face to one of their own, Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Representative from Arizona who was severely wounded in the 2011 Tucson massacre where 6 died and 13 more injured.  By guns.  It is this kind of Bizarre thinking that kills Americans daily.

NY Sen. Chuck Schumer on Democrats and gun control:

Dan Gross, Pres. Of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence laments that by pushing this gun rights platform, The GOP have, "put themselves farther out of touch with their constituents."  In a Pew Research Poll following the Aurora, Colo. movie shooting, 47% of Americans favored more gun control compared to 46% who don’t.  With those figures, and considering the firearms bloodbaths in 2012 alone, any thinking individual knows that something must be done.

Does that mean the NRA and its members and supporters don’t think?  Their ability in this area is questionable, but the real reason is they just don’t care.  These gun fanatics value their arsenals over human life and this is despicable.

On July 24, 4 days after the Aurora, Colo. shooting, The White House hinted that President Obama might address the gun control issue.  His spokesman Jay Carney even recapped Obama’s support for an assault weapons ban.  But just 2 days before this Jay Carney was reported as saying the President doesn’t believe new gun control laws are needed.  And in a later statement in August, Carney insisted the problem isn’t guns, it’s violence.

Where the hell does Carney and the President think the violence comes from?  This bullshit about guns don’t kill, people do, is just that, bullshit.  It takes a person to pull the trigger and the reason there are so many triggers to pull is the GOP conservatives, prodded with money from the NRA, repeatedly loosen gun laws.

The Democratic convention started this week and the platform does have some mention of gun control, as follows: “Guns: We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms.”  See the whole platform here.

But a headline in the Charlotte Observer on Monday read, “Don’t wimp out on gun-control platform,” with a subhead of “Democrats, let’s see a platform that pushes for more limits.”  In other words, they didn’t do enough. 

The author questions why the NRA thinks the President is the “most anti-gun president in modern times,” followed by a quote from the article saying, “Obama hasn’t proposed any anti-gun legislation during his first term, and his talk about gun control has been almost non-existent these last four years.”  I think we would be elated to hear something from Obama on gun control in his address tonight.  But we all will be satisfied if he just does something about it in his 2nd term.

Friday, May 18, 2012

The NRA’s imaginary world of guns for self-defense

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) has repeatedly cited the 2nd Amendment and the need for firearm protection in self-defense issues.  It’s even gone so far as to push its “Stand your Ground” law that allows the cowboys to shoot first and ask questions later.  A recent post I did on these points out the fallacy in the legislation with the result that even more will die unnecessarily from stupid laws like this if the NRA isn’t stopped dead in its tracks.


NRA weapons training

Wayne LaPierre, the wacky head of the NRA, had nothing more to say about the Trayvon Martin killing by George Zimmerman than deriding the American media for “sensational reporting from Florida.”  This bunch of thugs has no remorse for a black teenager who just wanted to be left alone.  Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, and a doctor confirmed that he had a broken nose, bloodied, and had bruises. You can see his police booking video, below:


Dennis Henigan, Vice President of the Brady Campaign, comments on the surveys the NRA uses to prove the “good guys” need their firearms for protection but calls our attention to the ambiguity of their findings.  The Harvard School of Public Health conducted two telephone surveys asking about the self-defense of guns.  This was submitted to a panel for their opinions of the legality of claimed self-defense use.


Brady Campaign's Dennis Henigan

It found that, “…over half were rated as probably illegal by a majority of the judges.”  Further that, “…over two thirds of the self-defense gun incidents were reported by only six respondents, with three respondents claiming fifty, twenty and fifteen self-defense uses of guns each within the previous five years.”  These gun bubbas are so proud of their weapons that they feel obligated to pump up the figures.  But it is an indication of the credibility of what the NRA uses.

Additional analysis of the survey showed that the respondent’s response was suspicious in that it sounded like it might have been aggressive rather than defensive.  And research by the University of Pennsylvania provided the fact that gun-toters were 4 to 5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those without a gun.  Data from the FBI find that less than 3 percent of annual gun homicides are justifiable self-defense killings.

And in another Huff Post article by Jess Coleman, “How the NRA hijacked America,” he reminds us of all the mass school shootings from Columbine to Oikos University.  He laments that both Congress and the NRA have kept silent.  The White House did react after the Tucson shooting that injured former U.S. representative Gabby Giffords, but then also fell silent.  Americans live their everyday lives in potential fear while lawmakers, including Obama, do nothing.

Coleman reiterates that due to the NRA’s efforts, the United States is home to almost 300 million privately owned guns.  That is close to one for each individual in this country, although we know that many NRA households are more than adequately stocked.  He continues over how the NRA ramrodded the “gun show loophole, which currently makes it possible for criminals and fugitives to purchase guns without a background check.” 

Lee Harvey Oswald
Because there was a period in the past where the NRA was more cooperative, Coleman asks what happened?  He answers this through Jill Lepore’s book, “Battleground America,” and the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald was able to buy his rifle through a magazine and have it delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.  This prompted the Gun Control Act and scared the hell out of the NRA.  From then on it was to the trenches led by the 2nd Amendment.

The Supreme Court has agreed with the right to bear arms but seems to be guarded as to whether that means just in one’s home, or outside that domain.  But it was Chief Justice Warren Burger who said, this interpretation is "one of the greatest pieces of fraud ... by special interests groups I have ever seen in my lifetime."  We’ve all heard the arguments over what James Madison referred to in the creating of a militia for protection.  We haven’t defined just what he meant.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Stories behind the mindless side of the gun rights movement

Sometimes you can’t resist illustrating just how far the marginally intelligent will go to attempt to prove their point that anyone should be able to own a gun and take it anywhere they want.  I question their IQ quotient because in a couple of the instances below, the people must be dealing with double digits or less.  If not, they are clearly a menace to society and should be under the observation of mental health specialists.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican (what else?) from Kentucky has placed his political support behind a gun group’s email campaign that has an image of a rifle pointed at President Barack Obama’s head.  It is funded by the National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) based in Virginia, who also has bolstered the conspiracy, along with the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), about the alleged government plans to take weapons away from American gun owners.

Ladd Everitt, dir. of communications for The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, says that death threats against Obama are up 400 percent compared to former President George W. Bush.  Considering the complete ineptness of GWB’s administration, you might wonder if this is based on the fact that most guns are in the hands of conservative Republicans.  Either that or is there another underlying factor which centers on Obama being the first black president?

Trayvon Martin target
And then we have this crackbrained entrepreneur from Orlando, Florida who has come up with the ludicrous idea to sell targets for the gun range, made in the image of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman.  Supposedly in a self-defense situation, Zimmerman was charged with 2nd degree murder.  Even Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara said, "This is the highest level of disgust and the lowest level of civility."

What says even more about the gun nuts that bought the targets is the fact that they sold out in 2 days.  This scrapes the under-belly of the barrel of bad taste but is representative of a group whose priorities are so far out of whack that they cannot see beyond the barrel of their gun.  The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) has turned these poor souls into a lunatic fringe for their guns, convincing them they have the right to do anything they want with their weapons.

The targets were offered for sale on a popular firearms auction website and the sellers said they "support Zimmerman and believe he is innocent and that he shot a thug."  No mention of supporting Zimmerman’s case from the proceeds of the sales of the targets, rather, it appears that these slime-balls have just decided to profit off the death of this black teenager.  This incident provides perfect insight into the mentality of an extremely dark side of the gun rights movement.

Finally, one for the books.  With Mexico overrun with weapons, did you know that there is only one legal gun store in the country?  If you’re a Mexican looking for a gun, you must go to the one store that is housed on a military base run by the army.  That’s if you want to do it legally, because Mexico has some of the strongest gun laws in the world.  But if you want a weapon from the so-called black market, you look to the U.S. just like the drug cartels do.

The ATF estimates that at least 68,000 guns found in Mexico by their government have been traced back to the United States.  Now, did you know that there are 20,834 gun stores on the U.S. side of the Mexican/American border?  Coincidence?  With the weak gun laws in this country, these stores are free to sell to whomever they please and in quantity.  Not losing a step, Republicans and the NRA still oppose any laws resisting the sale of assault weapons in the U.S.

Added to the above, it was reported by the Brady Campaign that gun dealers “lost” more than 62,000 firearms since 2008.  Described as “A Criminal’s Delight,” they also report that gun manufacturers, the biggest supporters of the NRA, lost more than 16,000 firearms since 2009.  Pennsylvania leads the nation when it comes to guns missing from gun shops.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t Arizona.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Graying Granny Marion Hammer excellent example of NRA’s brain washing


Marion Hammer

Attacking grandmothers is not something I would normally do but Marion Hammer is the exception.  She is ruthless in her loyalty to the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), one who illustrates perfectly just how this gun worshipping culture is instilled in kids from a very young age.  She was five when her grandfather gave her a .22 bolt-action single-shot rifle—at least it didn’t have a high-capacity magazine—and ordered her to “hunt down a rabbit or a squirrel for dinner.”

In 1995 she was president of the NRA and today is committed as a top lobbyist for the organization dedicated to putting a gun in the hands of every American—including even 5-year-olds—and make it legal for them to carry their weapons anywhere they want to.  She was the ramrod behind the “Stand your Ground” law which has been deemed responsible for the Florida shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.  She is now 70 years old.


Brian Malte

“Brian Malte, director of legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he considers Hammer an extremist.”  Further, "Marion Hammer and the NRA are the masterminds of a dangerous paranoid mentality that got Trayvon Martin killed, the mentality that is responsible for endangering all of our lives.  It's based on a lie that you need to be armed to the teeth anywhere you go,” said Malte.


Gary Kleck

Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Ocala Republican who sponsored Florida's Stand Your Ground law in 2005, counters. "It's not because we want to shoot somebody," he said. "We want to keep people from getting hurt."  Based on that statement, I looked for some confirmation of just how often an individual’s personal gun is used for self-defense.  The latest I could find was a 1997 study by Gary Kleck, an expert and Professor of Criminology at Fla. State U.  He said: 

“…gun ownership is largely passive self-protection--once a gun is acquired, the owner only rarely does anything defensive with it. Only a minority of defensive owners actually use their guns for self-protection; most of the rest just keep the gun in a bureau drawer or similar location, where it is available for use should the need arise.”

There’s more.  In 2008, Hammer and the NRA defied Walt Disney and the Chamber of Commerce and were the driving force behind a 2008 law that allows employees to bring guns to work -- as long as they lock the weapons in the car.”  She wasn’t done.  Her next pursuit was taking on the medical community to pass legislation “…to prevent doctors from asking young patients about guns in their homes. A judge shot down that law, saying it violated doctors' free speech.”

In the following video you must watch it to the end for the true meaning:



Apparently “Stand your Ground” was inspired by a Florida homeowner, 77-year-old James Workman, who shot and killed an intruder in a trailer outside his hurricane-damaged home.  He wasn’t prosecuted because it was legal to protect yourself in your home against imminent harm.  A reasonable law that most gun control advocates agree with.  But that wasn’t good enough for Marion Hammer, who saw an opening to move gun defense out onto the streets.

Hammer is described as “emotionally compelling’ in her presentations to lawmakers.  What is more important than her enthusiasm to these under thumb legislators is the fact that, if they don’t cooperate, the NRA will cut off contributions to future campaigns and back a competitor in the next election to run them out of office.  It is bad enough when money alone can decide elections but it is tragic in the hands of a Marion Hammer and the NRA.

Hammer has said little following the killing of Trayvon Martin, only commenting that Stand your Ground is “a good law.”  It is this complete lack of recognition for what is wrong and the lack of responsibility to admit you have perpetrated something horrible on the American public, that is defined by many as typical NRA arrogance.  And it will go on as long as the Marion Hammers and her NRA are allowed to pass more gun rights laws and loosen those on the books.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Crime down across U.S. but not because of more guns on the street

Except for the killing of police officers, crime is dropping in all other major categories, a trend that has now lasted four-and-one-half years.  Of course the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) would like to have you think it is due to the recent proliferation of guns on the street, which they are responsible for.  Not so.  According to the WSJ/Online, “Police officials and some criminologists attribute the persistent crime drop to more-sophisticated policing methods, such as targeting hot spots with extra officers.”

CNN reported nearly 500,000 criminal background checks during the last week before Christmas 2011.  The NRA told CNN that this is due to scared citizens afraid that cuts in police coverage will result in less protection.  This is the same kind of bullshit this organization of crackpots has been spreading for years.  It sounds like someone is equipping an army, and some of those guns will end up in irresponsible households like the one recently in Mesa, Arizona where a 7-year-old kid took a gun to school. 

"You keep any special interest group alive by nurturing the crisis atmosphere," is the statement of former NRA chief Ray Arnet.  And it is something they have done well for years working their membership of yahoos into a frenzy over any issue even slightly related to gun control.  The best recent example was when Barack Obama was elected President, the NRA told its members he would take away all their guns.  Thousands went out and bought more.


The $1 million Wayne LaPierre

Any intelligent individual can see this lobbying effort is designed for two reasons.  One, to encourage more gun sales for their high contributing gun manufacturers, and two, to support the NRA’s annual budget of over $200 million.  A pathetic membership provides people like its Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre “lavish benefits,” as the Democratic Underground puts it, with $1,000,000 in yearly salary and benefits.

The Christian Science Monitor lists six key reasons crime is down and not one of them mentions having more guns on the street.  They are:

1.    More incarceration of criminals meaning fewer are on the street.
2.    Better policing through being more proactive through surveillance.
3.    Social programs working with community groups to keep youths engaged.
4.    Simple demographics of a smaller population of the young people who commit more crime.
5.    Unemployment benefits through more government support that reduces stress-related crimes.
6.    Fewer opportunities with unemployment high and more people at home to protect their property.



But there is still the tragedy of more officers dying and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says 2011 could be the first year in ten years that more officers have died from gunshot wounds than from traffic accidents.  I say that is due entirely to loose gun laws and the fact that guns are everywhere in this country.  And in Arizona, hardly a day goes by that someone is not shot and in many cases killed.  This state has the loosest weapons laws in the nation.

The NRA will never change its methods or philosophy on gun rights, and advocates like myself will never change when it comes to our viewpoint on sane gun control.  Should the 2012 elections provide some relief from the oppression of the conservative right, in particular the Tea Party, and we see changes to a more progressive Supreme Court, it will be time to challenge the 2nd Amendment to define just what the specificity is of the term, “right of the people to keep and bear arms.”

Visit the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence here.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Democratic Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wants tougher gun laws

According to Brady Campaign Acting President Dennis Henigan, “The recent multiple shooting in Carson City, Nevada occurred despite the presence of an armed citizen. So did the mass shooting in Tucson.”  In other words this whole concealed-carry concept by the NRA and its boneheaded members is just hogwash.
Along with the other half of the founding Mayors Against Illegal Guns, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Menino is heading to the U.S. Congress to try and convince a bunch of unreasonable conservative gun bubbas—and even some Democrats—In both houses that the loose gun situation is out of control.  Menino and Bloomberg formed this coalition in 2006 and it has now grown to over 500 mayors in 40 states. 

Glock 19
They are asking for an overhaul of the background-check system for gun purchases which allowed such massacres as the one at Virginia Tech which killed 32 people, injuring 17 others, and the most recent in Tucson, Arizona killing 6 and injuring 13, including U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords from Arizona.  They both, known to be mentally ill, easily obtained a Glock 19 to do their dirty work, which emphasizes the need for more regulation.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is supported by the Campaign to Fix Gun Checks, a non-profit organization to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.  The group says, “It’s time for common sense reforms to Fix Gun Checks and stem the tide of gun murders that leaves 34 Americans dead every day.”  With Arizona gun laws the loosest in the U.S., it is a wonder there haven’t been more incidents in that powder keg state.

And now a bill approved by The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in October is expected to go before the full House and be passed as early as today.  Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York are asking President Obama to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.  The bill would make it easier for people to carry concealed handguns across state lines, observing the laws of their ownership state. 

This would immediately unleash a bunch of gun carrying fanatics from the state of Arizona across the country supported by laws that allow them to do just about anything they chose with their firearms.  People in that state can carry a concealed weapon without having a permit or any education in the handling of a gun.  It’s like buying bread at the local supermarket, only a loaf of bread won’t kill you.  It is lunacy at its highest level.



Mind you, these laws that allow guns on the street in anyone’s hands exist “…despite such evidence as the recent study by a Stanford economist demonstrating that right-to-carry laws do not decrease the overall level of crime and perhaps even increase it.”  You might remember that when Jared Loughner started shooting in Tucson, two gun-carrying cowboys came to the rescue and almost shot each other.

This fact is also supported by findings from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence which counters the National Rifle Assn. desire to allow gun owners to carry their guns anywhere they want to.  According to the Brady group, “The more lax the gun laws, the more likely that dangerous people will acquire handguns, as a recent report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence profiling 13 murderers who held concealed-carry permits makes clear.”

The Brady Campaign is also fighting the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, H.R. 822, sponsored by Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Schuler (D-NC).  They also have a report out featuring the profiles of some of the worst concealed-carry killers including Jared Loughner, “…Paul Michael Merhige, who is charged with killing four family members on Thanksgiving in 2009, and Marqus Hill, who had had his license revoked but got it back and is charged with shooting a man 13 times, killing him.”

The Brady campaign also listed three primary reasons this bill would be dangerous for all.

1.    The legislation would override current state laws.
2.    It would force states to allow untrained visitors with guns like those from Arizona.
3.    New widely varying standards would apply in states with stricter rules.


Vigilante justice we don't need

According to Brady Campaign Acting President Dennis Henigan, “The recent multiple shooting in Carson City, Nevada occurred despite the presence of an armed citizen. So did the mass shooting in Tucson.”  In other words this whole concealed-carry concept by the NRA and its boneheaded members is just hogwash.

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