Another Of Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors Bites The Dust

Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors has gained another member. Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle resigned effective as of 5 pm PDT today. He has been accused of child molestation by at least five men.

From Oregon Public Radio:

The resignation comes after a younger cousin accused him of sexual abuse in the 1970s.

The Seattle Times reports that Joseph Dyer, 54, accuses Murray of repeatedly molesting him when he was a teenager.

Dyer is the fifth man to accuse the mayor of such abuse.

Murray has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual abuse. He has said in the past that accusations from four men were part of a right-wing political agenda to take him down. According to the Times, Murray said the latest accusation is false and is likely because of a family rift.

Dyer says Murray forced him into sex while they shared a bedroom in Dyer’s childhood home, according to the Times. Dyer says he was 13 years old at the time. Murray lived with Dyer’s family in New York after his mother passed away.

Dyer has provided a signed declaration to a Seattle lawyer representing Delvonn Heckard, the man who sued Murray earlier this year for repeatedly raping him in the 1980s. The lawsuit has since been withdrawn but Heckard has filed a claim for damages against the city of Seattle.

Murray denies the claims of molestation but nonetheless has resigned. I hate to say it but you don't publicly accuse someone of child molestation over a mere family rift. Dyer, Murray's cousin, provided a signed declaration to the attorney representing Delvonn Heckard who had also accused Murray of molestation.

I don't know if the statute of limitations has passed or not. However, child molestation is one of the most sordid of crimes especially when done by either a family member or someone in a position of authority. Murray was a family member of Dyer and a counselor to the other men. Resignation from his mayoral post and deciding not to run for re-election seems to me an effort on the part of Murray to hide as much of these incidents as possible.

I hope these men get the justice that they deserve. Three years ago the headline in the Seattle Times read, "Big winners: gun control and Mayor Ed Murray." How times have changed in Seattle for at least one of these two.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again

I have lost count of the number of Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors that have been indicted for some violation of the public trust. So when it comes to adding another one to the list, it just seems like deja vu all over again (with apologies to Yogi Berra).

On Friday, Monticello (NY) Village Mayor Gordon Jenkins was arrested and placed in the Sullivan County Jail along with the village's building inspector.

His crimes?

Both men were charged with bribe receiving, criminal mischief, two counts of conspiracy, both felonies, as well as misdemeanors of three counts of official misconduct, criminal nuisance, and under the Department of Environmental Conservation law, endangering public health or safety.

Jenkins was also charged with intimidating a witness as a felony in connection with an incident in Fallsburg.

Bribery, conspiracy, witness intimidation.

What is with this group of mayors? Do they think that they can get away with a slew of felonies just so long as they didn't use a firearm in the commission of their crimes?

A Big City Mayor Arrested...And He's Not A MAIG Member

Michael Bloomberg and Mark Glaze must be giving a big sigh of relief. A big city mayor was arrested today on corruption charges and the big distinction in all of it was that he wasn't a member of (former) Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors.

Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon (D) was arrested on charges that he took bribes and Vegas trips from undercover FBI agents five times. These bribes were in the tens of thousand of dollar range and he was asking for $1 million more. The 48 page Federal criminal complaint can be found here.

From the Charlotte Observer:

Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was arrested Wednesday on public corruption charges, with the FBI alleging he took tens of thousands of dollars in bribes – including $20,000 in cash delivered in a briefcase last month to the mayor’s office where he also solicited $1 million more.

In return for the money, trips, hotel rooms and access to a luxury SouthPark apartment, Cannon promised to help agents posing as potential commercial investors with zoning, parking and other city-related issues.

If convicted on all charges, Cannon could face up to fifty years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.
 

Mayors Demand Illegal Moms

Or is it Illegal Mayors Demand Action (with) Moms?

More appropriately, Moms Demand Action Against Illegal Mayors.

In case you haven't heard, Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors and I'm Just a Stay-at-Home Mom Shannon Watt's Demanding Moms have agreed to merge.

From USA Today:

Outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday will announce that it is joining with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a year-old grassroots campaign launched the day after the Dec. 14, 2012, shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

The combined group will align Bloomberg's deep pockets with the strong social network and media savvy the mothers' group brings. The billionaire founder of Bloomberg News said last week that he'll "devote extensive resources of my own" to the effort.

In a statement Wednesday, Bloomberg said, "Gun violence is, unfortunately, an issue that affects every community, and coming together with Moms Demand Action today will strengthen our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and save lives."

As Say Uncle noted last night when he first reported this story, "Except that there is no grassroots and there is no high profile."

California gun rights attorney Chuck Michel compared this merger to when the Brady Campaign and the Million Mom March merged except this time they'll have Bloomberg's deep pockets. From the same USA Today article, he said:

"This seems analogous to a corporate takeover, where a large company sees the advantage of acquiring the social media and brand of a target company, but their agendas are the same. In this case, their anti-Second Amendment agendas won't change," he says.

There is no word yet from Mr. Gabby Giffords who I imagine is a bit miffed that Bloomberg didn't pick them as a merger partner.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) calls this a "game changer" on their Facebook page because they think it will give gun control "a fully-funded national grassroots movement." Yeah, right but Josh and Ladd are still stuck in an office above a coffee shop.


* The headline is courtesy of a tweet by Gene Hoffman.

In Other Election News...

The big races yesterday were in New Jersey and Virginia. Others have covered those races and I won't bother to rehash them other than to say than to say, despite the different party tags, neither winner is a friend of gun owners and their rights.

Despite all the media attention focused on Chris Christie, Terry McAuliffe, Ken Cuccinelli, and that Sandinista elected to replace Bloomberg, there were elections at the local level in many areas of the country.

Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned examines the results in Pennsylvania as they impact gun rights here.

In North Carolina, municipal elections are usually held in odd years and there were a number of elections across the state involving mayors belonging to Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors. According to their website, there are currently 15 misguided mayors in North Carolina who have lent their names to that effort. Out of those 15 cities, 12 had elections yesterday. The other three held their elections in 2011 and weren't due until 2015.  The incumbent mayors of Carrboro and Emerald Isle did not run for re-election.

This left 10 elections in which a MAIG member was up for re-election. The mayors of Carolina Shores, Chapel Hill, Creedmoor, East Spencer, and Hillsborough faced no opposition except for possible write-in candidates. Thus, only five of the 15 MAIG mayors faced any real opposition.

So how did they fare?

In the cities of Durham and Winston-Salem respectively, incumbent Mayors Bill Bell and Allen Joines cruised to re-election with 80% plus majorities. The Mayor of Oxford, Jackie Sargent, squeaked through in a 3-way election but with less than a majority.

That leaves the mayors of Greensboro and Morrisville who both lost. While gun control was not an issue in the overwhelming defeat of Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins by Nancy Barakat Vaughn, it most certainly was an issue in Morrisville.

Morrisville Mayor Jackie Holcombe was quite outspoken in her support for gun control.

Holcombe has drawn the ire of both the National Rifle Association and Grassroots NC for asking Gander Mountain to stop selling semi-automatic rifles at its local store and for joining the Mayors Against Illegal Guns lobbying group.

Holcombe also pushed and failed to find ways for Morrisville to evade state law regarding concealed carry in city parks, greenways, and athletic fields. As such, she incurred the wrath of Grass Roots North Carolina and its Political Victory Fund which actively worked for her opponent Councilman Mark Stohlman who was pro-gun.

I don't know if Holcombe's anti-gun stance made the difference but she lost to Stohlman in the 3-way race by almost 100 votes.

With the defeats in Greensboro and Morrisville, the number of Illegal Mayors has been reduced to 13. I don't know where the new mayors of Carrboro and Emerald Isle stand on gun rights. It may be if we are lucky that they don't want anything to do with that organization. We'll just have to wait and see.

To sum up, gun owners came out a little better after the election than before. Since most of the mayors in North Carolina who belong to Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors represent small cities and towns, a concerted local lobbying effort might reduce the number even more. It's worth a try.

A Coalition Serves Freedom Of Information Request On Bloomberg

A coalition consisting of the Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and Tom Gresham of Gun Talk have served a Freedom of Information Law request on the City of New York to provide all records concerning Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors and the use of city funds to support the group. It is an effort to smoke out just how much the citizens of the City of New York are paying for Bloomberg's pet project.

From the SAF release:

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today has filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request with the City of New York for all records relating to Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns, after newspaper allegations that city resources have been used for MAIG’s gun control efforts.

SAF is being joined in the request by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and Tom Gresham, host of the nationally-syndicated “Gun Talk.”

“It was bad enough to learn via CBS News that the MAIG website was being hosted on a city-owned server, and administered by city employees,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “but it also appears that a special counselor in the mayor’s office was sent to lobby in Nevada on behalf of MAIG’s gun control agenda.”

The New York Post and Politico both published reports that Mayor Bloomberg sent Christopher Kocher to Nevada, and that in an apparent attempt to conceal who he worked for, Kocher “scrubbed his City Hall e-mail address from the state of Nevada lobbying-registration Web site early this month.”

“The public has a right to know what’s been going on between Bloomberg, the city and MAIG,” Gottlieb explained. “Gun control is Bloomberg’s pet peeve, and he’s been pushing an anti-gun agenda since sending so-called private investigators on a sting operation to gun shops all over the country, which got him in trouble with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”

“There certainly appears to be a serious problem in Bloomberg’s administration,” Gresham added. “Evidently, the mayor and his staff have a gross misunderstanding of how the taxpayers’ money should be spent, and that should not include sending New York employees around the country to lobby for Bloomberg’s pet projects.”

The request was filed by SAF Special Projects Director Philip Watson, for the following information:

1. All electronic records related to Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the website MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org, including, but not limited to:

• a. All electronic files saved on city servers
• b. All Emails to or from users at the domain MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org
• c. All current and former employees, officials, outside contractors, and volunteers with access to the website MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org
• d. All current and former Email users and usernames that have had access to send or receive Email from @MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org

2. Any and all records related to Mayors Against Illegal Guns electronic files, including, but not limited to:

• a. Emails
• b. Any written documents
• c. Any records describing processes for cooperation with this group
• d. Any records describing how received communications with this group are processed
• e. All employee pay or overtime related to cooperation or time spent with this group
• f. Official names, titles, and contact information of all employees, officials, outside contractors, and volunteers involved with domain hosting, creation, maintenance, and communication for MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org
• g. All costs incurred by the City of New York for creation, maintenance, domain hosting, and communication for MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org

3. Any and all records of communication since January 1, 2002 between any city official, employee, or volunteer and any gun control advocacy organization, including, but not limited to:

• a. Mayors Against Illegal Guns
• b. Demand A Plan
• c. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• d. Center for Gun Policy and Research
• e. Ceasefire
• f. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
• g. Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
• h. Joyce Foundation
• i. Violence Policy Center
• j. Legal Community Against Violence
• k. Million Mom March

“The man is obsessed,” Gottlieb continued, “and if he’s spent so much as a dime of public money on what amounts to a private crusade, Mayor Bloomberg needs to be held accountable for that.”

Gottlieb has called on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to launch a full-scale investigation into the mayor’s potential misuse of public resources for his own private war on gun owners. He renewed that call today.

“If Eric Schneiderman won't investigate Bloomberg for possible misuse of public funds,” Gottlieb said, “we will. The mayor has been acting increasingly like a self-appointed monarch, but this still the United States, not Bloomberg’s personal fiefdom."

Given that other states and cities have strong freedom of information laws and given that there are a number of cities with a mayor belonging to MAIG, I think this provides a nice template for a grass roots effort to smoke out the use of public funds to promote gun control efforts. These politicians are like cockroaches and hate to see the light of day shone on their activities.

Make That Former MAIG Member

Mayor Larry Morrissey of Rockford, Illinois was a member of Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors in good standing. Even this morning their website showed him as a member of their "coalition" as you can see in the screenshot below.

I say "was a member" because Mayor Morrissey not only dropped out of MAIG yesterday but has indicated that he will be seeking a concealed carry permit as soon as it finally becomes law in the state of Illinois. His decision to seek a concealed carry permit is due to his receiving death threats in office for which the Rockford PD provided him extra protection.

As he told the Rockford Register Star, "I don't want to put my family's life at risk or my own life at risk if I can otherwise protect myself."

Regarding his decision to quit Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors, he had this to say:

"The reason why I joined the group in the first place was because I took the name for what it said, against illegal guns," Morrissey said.

Morrissey said he didn't expect the organization to get involved with banning magazine clips or "assault" weapons.

"As the original mission swayed, that's when I decided it was no longer in line with my beliefs," Morrissey said.

You have to wonder how many other mayors across the country were sold the line that all MAIG wanted to do was prevent criminals from having firearms as opposed to preventing everyone but Mayor Bloomberg's personal protection team from having firearms.

In the meantime, Mayor Morrissey should be congratulated on the wisdom of his decision to not only distance himself from MAIG but to step and provide the protection himself for he and his family. If you want to congratulate him, contact information is found here.

A Warm Tar Heel Welcome Planned For MAIG's Anti-Freedom Riders

Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors is bringing their 100 city bus tour to Raleigh, NC tomorrow at 9am. Unlike the Freedom Riders of the 1960s, this bus tour is seeking to curtail your civil rights which is why I call them the "anti-Freedom Riders". Grass Roots North Carolina plans a nice, warm Tar Heel welcome for Bloomberg's minions.

From GRNC:

Let's give Bloomberg's radicals a 'welcome' they won't forget!

As you may have heard, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG) recently began a 100-city bus tour to push for federal gun bans. Although Bloomberg keeps the bus schedule secret to avoid actually hearing what people want, we have learned that the MAIG bus tour will hit Raleigh at 9:00 AM on Saturday.

It's time to show the media and the world that Bloomberg does not speak for the nation by showing up at GRNC's "MAIG Counter Demonstration." Yes, the notice is short. No, you probably don't have time, or you have something else scheduled. . .

Be there anyway!

DETAILS

When:
Saturday, June 22 at 9:00 AM

Where:
Moore Square, Raleigh, NC, 27601
(Moore Sq. at the corner of Martin St. & Person St.)

What:
A peaceful counter protest to deliver a message to the media that "Guns Save Lives!"

Beforehand:

If you think you can make it, please let us know how many people you are bringing by emailing: President@GRNC.org

From the east: I-40E to Ex. 299 (Hammond Rd) toward Person St. Go 0.3 mi & turn left toward Hammond Rd. Go 108 ft & left onto Hammond Rd. Go 0.7 mi & continue onto S Person St. Go 1.0 mi & turn left onto E Martin St. Destination will be on the right.

DEMONSTRATION GUIDELINES

1. Firearms are prohibited by law at demonstrations and protests.
2. Dress for the press: Please avoid wearing anything which allows the media to depict us as the radicals rather than our opposition (e.g. shirts with slogans which could be construed as racist, etc.)
3. Keep signs on message: GRNC will have a large number of lime green "Guns Save Lives!" signs which are highly effective at showing up on TV cameras, but you are free to bring your own. However, please don't use signs which could be used to depict us in a negative light, and stick to the pro-gun message.
4. This is a peaceful counter demonstration: Do not engage in heckling or other altercations with the opposition.

UPDATE: Kahr40 attended the event and has some pictures up on his blog here. I know Sean was there but he hasn't posted on it yet.

UPDATE II: WRAL in Raleigh covered the event and gave time to both sides. Thanks to Sean for posting a link to the video below.

Has Bloomberg Bought Another Western State?

Yesterday, the Nevada State Assembly passed universal background checks by a vote of 23 yea to 19 nay and sent it to Gov. Brian Sandoval (R-NV) for his signature or veto. The text of the bill as enrolled can be found here.

One of the most contentious bills of the day was Senate Bill 221, sponsored by Sen. Justin Jones, D-Las Vegas, to require background checks on private gun sales.

The bill appeared dead early Monday, but in an unexpected move, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved it on a 7-5 vote.

The full Assembly then voted 23-19 to send it to Sandoval despite his promise to veto the measure. Four Democrats joined with all 15 Republicans in opposing the measure.

The bill previously passed the Senate on an 11-10 party-line vote with Democrats in support.

Multiple reports indicate that Gov. Sandoval will veto this bill. That has not stopped Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors from running ads asking people to call the governor and asking him to sign it. Moreover, they are saying that "86% of Nevada voters" support the bill.

The other day I wrote about how certain legislators were expecting substantial campaign contributions as a result of pushing Bloomberg's bill.

It is obvious from the lists below, that Bloomberg saturated Carson City with lobbyists. There are a total of 63 legislators in both houses of the Nevada Legislature. Examining the list of lobbyists below for Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors, I see a total of 13 paid lobbyists or one lobbyist for every 4.85 legislators. An asterisk after the lobbyist name indicates that he or she is a paid lobbyist. Bloomberg had no volunteer lobbyists.

By contrast, you have three paid lobbyists and three volunteer lobbyists for the pro-rights side. Besides the NRA, you had the Nevada Firearms Coalition and the Stillwater Firearms Association. The Nevada Firearms Association is the state affiliate of the NRA. As they themselves note, they relied on the NRA-ILA to handle things in the legislature until recently. The Stillwater Firearms Association is a non-profit that puts on classes, organizes shooting competitions, and manages a shooting range in Fallon, NV.

From an outsider's perspective, it appears that Mayor Bloomberg overwhelmed the grassroots organizations with money, ads, and paid lobbyists just like he did in Colorado. Unlike Colorado, having a Republican governor may be enough to stop this in its tracks. A veto of the bill cannot be overriden by either house of the Nevada Legislature.

While it is past time to have made your voice heard, we still have a chance with Gov. Sandoval. I'd emphasize that this measure won't stop crime and would not have prevented the Newtown shootings. Moreover, if you are not a state resident but have visited Reno, Las Vegas, or other gambling locations, make that known along with your determination not to spend your money in a state that doesn't believe in your civil rights.

Contact information for Gov. Sandoval is located here.

One final reminder: be firm but respectful.

I'm Sure This Will Work Well....Or Not

Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) is one of the few remaining Blue Dog Democrats in the House of Representatives. He was A-rated and endorsed by the NRA-PVF in the 2012 general election. He defeated State Senator David Rouzer by a mere 654 votes to win re-election. There is no way to tell for sure but the NRA-PVF endorsement might just have been the edge McIntyre needed to squeak by in his conservative district in southeast NC.

The picture below was tweeted by K. Meera Bhardwaj of Carrboro, North Carolina on Thursday. Her LinkedIn profile identifies her as the Regional Organizing Director for Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors. From my experience living in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, Carrboro is where those who are even too far Left for liberal Chapel Hill live. Things may have changed since I lived down in the Triangle but I doubt it.

The picture is captioned "2 gun owners, 4 parents, 2 kids, and 7 voters @DemandAction at @MikeMcIntyreNC's office today!"

All I can say is that I hope Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors continues hiring organizers who have no clue about the area in which they are sent to work. Contrast this with the intimate knowledge that people like ISRA's Richard Pearson and the NRA's Todd Vandermyde brought to the battle for concealed carry in Illinois. Or, if we want to talk about North Carolina, that Grass Roots North Carolina and Paul Valone have brought to the battle for gun rights in this state.

Good News From Florida

Buried in the news of the week amongst the Senate votes on gun control and the bombing at the Boston Marathon with the subsequent manhunt for the Chechen bombers, was the defeat of one of Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors in Gainesville, Florida. The last time I had reported on Mayor Craig Lowe, he had just been arrested for driving under the influence with property damage.

In the run-off election for mayor of Gainesville, Lowe lost to former City Commissioner Ed Braddy.

In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of more than two to one, the Republican Braddy defeated the Democrat Lowe by almost 10 percent of the vote. With all 35 precincts reporting, Braddy had 7,258 votes (55 percent) to Lowe's 6,007 (45 percent).

Lowe was one of the 30 mayors featured in a recent MAIG video demanding "a plan".

While Lowe's DUI undoubtedly played some role in his defeat, Braddy attributed his win to a campaign message of making Gainesville more affordable for both people and business. He also pledged to run a more open City Hall.

While campaigning, Braddy said that differing or contrary viewpoints were not welcome under Lowe's leadership. He said the city should do away with more restrictive rules on public comment at City Commission meetings, including the requirement to sign up in advance to speak at the 6 p.m. time for general comment.

"City Hall is open to the people," Braddy told a cheering group of supporters at The Warehouse restaurant. "The people will be welcomed at City Hall."

Why am I not surprised to read that Mayor Lowe wasn't open to differing or contrary viewpoints. That seems to be the modus operandi of all gun prohibitionists.

Misleading Infographic Of The Day

Normally, I like infographics. Used correctly, they convey a lot of useful information in an understandable format. However, they can be misused.

An example of infographic misuse is shown below. It comes from Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors and their Demand Action project.

What the infographic doesn't tell you is that Harry Reid (D-NV) set the bar at 60 votes for any amendment to S. 649 to forestall any efforts at a filibuster. It was part of the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill and to accelerate the discussion. Otherwise, there would have been 30 hours of debate and Harry Reid didn't want the details of Manchin-Toomey subjected to that much sunlight.

Moreover, their argument that five senators representing four states which comprise 1.4% of the US population is specious. You could make the equally valid argument that the six senators from three states - Vermont, Rhode Island, and Delaware - put Manchin-Toomey over the 50 vote mark. These three states, by the way, represent a mere 0.8% of the US population.

Jame Taranto of the Wall Street Journal in his Best of the Web Today column calls these efforts "a thuggish majoritarian rhetoric". It helps put this infographic - which is nothing but authoritarian propaganda - into perspective.

Could It Be He's An Actor?

The NRA released a video ad this morning that takes aim at Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors' ad that feature a bearded guy on the back of a pickup truck. The ad suggests that the actor - and we have to assume that given his lack of gun handling skills - take one of the NRA's gun safety classes.

I like it. Punching back twice as hard is the way to go.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

In a move that can only be considered imitating the National Rifle Association, Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors plan to "grade" legislators on how they vote on gun control as well as their public statements.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the nonprofit group financed by Bloomberg (I), will unveil a scoring system Tuesday to award lawmakers grades of A through F, much like the National Rifle Association, which has derived much of its power by deploying letter rankings against politicians at election time. The group’s strategists briefed The Washington Post on the plans ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.

“For decades, the NRA has done an admirable job of tracking to minute detail how members of Congress stand on gun bills. We’ve simply decided to do the same,” said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which is chaired by Bloomberg and is made up of more than 900 mayors from across the country.

 Glaze says they are trying to provide "guidance" to well-heeled donors who back gun control. The Washington Post notes that they are aiming this squarely at senators on the bubble in states like North Carolina and Montana. While their constituents do not back gun control, these senators depends on donations from states like New York and California to get elected or re-elected. This is the same threat that was used successively in Colorado against wavering Democrats.

The one thing that Bloomberg can't imitate is the grassroots supporters of the NRA.

“The reason NRA scorecards are effective is that they have the weight of approximately 5 million dues-paying members and tens of millions of other supporters behind them,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said. In a dig at Bloomberg, he added, “We’ll take that over the purse of one billionaire any day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

 When I start seeing Friends of MAIG banquets and fundraisers, then and only then will I believe that there is significant grassroots support for gun control. Until then, I will keep pushing my legislators to earn their "F" from MAIG.

Note To Demand Action - We Aren't That Gullible

Demand Action to End Gun Violence (sic) is a project of Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors. This week they have been tweeting a "breaking" message about a new 50-state "analysis of gun violence".

I'd like to believe that no one would be so gullible as to believe this "analysis" was unbiased and accurate. The sad reality is that this report from the Center from American Progress, a "progressive" research and advocacy group, has been picked up by a number of media outlets including MSNBC. I guess given the record of the media running with sham stories I shouldn't be surprised.


The first indication that this is a biased report is who wrote it. The authors - Arkadi Gerney, Chelsea Parsons, and Charles Posner - all have links to either Bloomberg or Obama. Gerney preceded Mark Glaze as the executive director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Parsons was general counsel to the New York City
criminal justice coordinator prior to coming to the Center for American Progress. Finally, Posner worked for a Democratic polling group and Organizing for America prior to coming to CAP. To think that any of these authors would put out a report on guns that could pass the smell test is ludicrous.

The second indication that this report is a sham is the reliance on data and ranking from groups such as the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Violence Policy Center, and MAIG. While they do use some data that is valid, how they twist is not.

Finally, you need only read the "recommendations" to understand that this "analysis" was not at finding the truth but to promote advocacy for more gun control. They want universal background checks, a definition of "dangerous people" that goes far beyond felons and the mentally ill, a ban on "assault weapons and high-capacity magazines", and stronger laws against trafficking.

 This report is proof positive that the old saw that "figures lie and liars figure" is true.

Sen. Jeff Flake - "A Bridge Too Far"

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was a guest on NBC's Meet The Press along with the odious Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Among the questions they discussed with Chuck Todd of NBC was gun control. Schumer gave the usual answers but as you can see in the video below, Flake called universal background checks "a bridge too far".

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sen. Flake is one of the senators that is being targeted by Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors in their $12 million ad campaign. MAIG was out front about hoping to influence Flake's vote on gun control issues. That he has come out saying that universal background checks are a no-go for him is good news.

He is one of the co-sponsor's of S. 480 - NICS Reporting Improvement Act of 2013. This bill aims to clarify the mental health exclusions to firearms ownership.

No More Nanny? No More Mumbles?

What in the world is Mayors Against Illegal Guns going to do next year?

Their more well-known co-chair, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is term limited and can't run again for mayor of New York City. Meanwhile, his erstwhile co-chairman, Mayor Thomas "Mumbles" Menino, announced yesterday he won't be running for a sixth term.

Given that the whole organization runs on Bloomberg's money, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Bloomberg some sort of honorary title like Chairman Emeritus and let him continue to run the organization behind the scenes.

As to Mumbles, unlike many of his other mayors, at least he won't be spending his retirement in prison.

A Hearty Cheer For Sean!

Sean Sorrentino of An NC Gun Blog made the news yesterday. He, in his own words, crashed a MAIG press conference held in Durham, North Carolina. I think when they saw Sean there they assumed he was one of them. After all, he is a younger looking guy with a ponytail. Oh, little did they know!

Sean asked them about Sen. Harry Reid's S.649 which is an amalgam of a number of gun control bills.

That bill would have criminalized something I did last year. My wife wanted to learn to shoot my Ruger 10/22. I took my rifle to a friend’s farm and gave it to him. My wife went up to his farm and he taught her to shoot it safely out on the “back forty.” Then he put it in her truck and she brought it home. He had the rifle for about 4 months. S649 would put all three of us in Federal prison for 5 years each, minimum. I asked the mayors, “How would making me, my wife, and our friend Mike into federal felons keep criminals from selling guns to each other on the streets of Durham, Morrisville, or Chapel Hill?”

It was a good question and one that has an obvious answer. It wouldn't.

As a side note, I recently participated in a webinar put on by the UNC School of Government recently. One of the last questions asked came from the town attorney of Chapel Hill. He wanted to know if a "large capacity assault weapon" could be considered a weapon of mass destruction under NCGS 160A-183. That statute says a town or city can prohibit "any weapons or instrumentalities of mass death and destruction". He was told it wasn't and that the town was preempted from regulating firearms. I mention this because it goes to show just how far towns run by Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors are trying to go.

Go to Sean's blog, read the whole account, and watch the video. Sean deserves a lot of credit for going there and standing up for what is right.

Another One For The Road, Mayor Lowe?

Mayor Bloomberg can add another of his fine group of mayors to the Illegal Mayors file. Mayor Craig Lowe of Gainesville, Florida was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol on charges of DUI with property damage. According to reports, Mayor Lowe was found asleep behind the wheel of his wrecked Honda Civic this past Thursday. He failed the field sobriety tests administered by the FHP.

Booking Picture - Alachua County

According to the story in the Washington Free Beacon, Mayor Lowe, a Democrat, is in a run-off election on April 16th. He is due to appear in court on April 11th.

Mayor Lowe was one of 30 mayors featured in a recent MAIG video "demanding a plan". He appears at about the 19 second mark and is given the honor of saying "Newtown" in their list of mass shootings. He looks considerably better and more polished in his dark suit and lavender tie than he does wearing a green-striped jumpsuit as in the picture above.




Illegal Mayors have a way of disappearing as if they were disgraced members of the Soviet Politburo. Instead of not being seen at the May Day parades, they disappear from the MAIG website. A screen capture of their webpage taken this morning still shows Mr. Lowe as a member in good standing of MAIG. I wonder how long that will last.

The Fine Hand Of Bloomberg And Bill Drafting

The New York Post reported yesterday that sources within Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration are blaming the Brady Campaign and Bloomberg's people for all the problems with the new NY SAFE Act. That is, of course, beyond the fact that the bill was rammed through both houses of the New York State legislature with very no discussion.

A Cuomo administration source is flatly denying the governor’s claim that his new anti-gun SAFE Act was carefully drafted, saying the governor himself wasn’t even aware of some provisions when it was hastily enacted into law.

“The governor thought the limit on the size of [gun] magazines would only apply to assault-style rifles, not to handguns,’’ said the source.

“That’s why there’s the big problem now with handguns, among other things in the statute.’’

The legal sale of virtually all semiautomatic handguns will soon be impossible because Cuomo’s law limits the size of bullet-holding magazines to seven shots, virtually none of which are manufactured for sale.

“Much of what’s in the law was drafted by people connected to Mayor Bloomberg and the Brady Center, not by the governor’s staff,” the source said. “That’s why there are so many problems with it.’’

As Michael Bane has reported many times, the new gun control bills in Colorado were drafted by Bloomberg and his people and have definitions that are peculiar to New York law and not Colorado law. This especially relates to the definition of transfer of a firearm.

Meanwhile back in February, in Minnesota, Rep. Alice Hausman, the prime sponsor and ostensible author of HF 241 - the Minnesota "assault weapons" (sic) ban - left the hearings on her own bill and let Heather Martens, a lobbyist from the gun control group Protect Minnesota, explain the bill. Hausman told a reporter later that she really didn't understand her own bill. That bill also had a different definition of "transfer" as well.

As used in this section, "transfer" means a sale, gift, loan, assignment, or other delivery to another, whether or not for consideration, of an assault weapon.

When the BATFE speaks of transfer of a firearm, they mean the transfer of ownership or title. Under normal commercial law, a sales transaction or transfer of title requires an offer, an acceptance of that offer, and the offering of consideration. Consideration is the cash or other remuneration paid for the item. Without those three actions, the transaction or transfer is void and didn't occur. Notice that the Minnesota law explicitly removes the third element from their definition of transfer.

I'm sure a close examination of any of the other gun control bills involving semi-automatic firearms, magazines, and background checks that have been introduced in many state legislatures would show these same similarities. What Michael Bloomberg and his billions can't achieve on a national level might be achieved on the state level if we aren't on guard. As Michael Bane said to Tom Gresham on Sunday during his interview on Gun Talk, they were blindsided in Colorado.

UPDATE: It seems like Mayor Bloomberg isn't pleased with the reports that Cuomo is blaming the drafting of NY SAFE on him.

Asked about that criticism today, Bloomberg erupted in anger.

"What did we do, put a gun to their head, if you pardon the pun, and force them to write legislation?" he said, during a press conference in Brooklyn about helping the unemployed get jobs. "Is that the allegation? That we were up there with automatic weapons with expanded capacity magazines forcing them to write a bill?"

"That's the kind of journalism that I find troublesome," he continued. "You've got a source that isn't willing to put their name on the bill and the reporting of it wasn't in the context of, is that credible? But they were forced by guns, or a knife at their throat, to take our ideas. If they took our ideas, I'm flattered. I hope they did. And I don't know whether they did or didn't, and I don't know whether they got it accurate or not."

In a latter statement from one of Bloomberg's press spokesman, they said they wanted micro-stamping in NY SAFE but never said anything about magazines. Hmmm.

Jacob at GunpoliticsNY.com has more on this along with some analysis. Sebastian discusses this buck-passing and the reliance on polling by some politicians in a post this afternoon. I suggest reading both.