Can We Go A Week?
It seems near impossible to go more than a week without hearing New York's Mayor Bloomberg speak for the rest of us. Recently, he has travelled to Capitol Hill to speak against legislation that would keep gun sales records from being used against dealers who steal guns that are later used in crimes.
The mayor had this to say:
“We'll do everything we can to continue the fight against guns on the streets of our big cities. This is not something that has to do with the right to bear arms. This is not a Republican or a Democratic thing,” said the mayor. “We're trying to go after a handful of unscrupulous dealers. One percent of all of the dealers in this country sell 60 percent of the guns used in committing crimes. Those are the ones that we want to go after."
While I appreciate the Mayor's position, what should probably color any analysis of it is who is immediately praising Bloomberg for this testimony.
He earned the praise of Jim and Sarah Brady. This week marks the 25th anniversary of Brady's shooting in the assassination attempt on President Reagan.
"Too many Americans continue to have their families torn apart by gun violence, and we all owe Mayor Bloomberg a great deal of praise," Jim Brady said. "A lot of public officials talk about standing up to the special interests - Mayor Bloomberg is really doing it."
"We're extremely grateful to have the Mayor fighting to make sure our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to get crime guns off the streets," said Sarah Brady. "Efforts in Congress to coddle the gun lobby must stop."
If the Brady Bunch is praising you, that makes your actions a little suspect. In Bloomberg's case, he has made no secret that he is an old-school Big City politico when it comes to guns. He hates them, hates that anyone in the country has them and wants them all banned, just like in crime-free New York. Would that we could all be as saintly as such a Machine politician as Bloomberg. Perish the thought.
Yes, I can see the value in having the records on hand for the one percent or so of dealers who seem to habitually sell mass quantities to questionable sources. However, the ATF knows who they are anyway and can nail them if they step out of line. A gun registry can and has been used by unscrupulous regimes both local and at higher levels to confiscate firearms, though. It can also be used to arrest a dealer who sells a gun to someone who can buy it legally, then it gets stolen or used in a crime of passion or some similar tragedy. Now that dealer is liable, and fully expect that anyone the Brady's endorse would wholeheartedly agree with this, for the gun sale in a criminal fashion. If the authorities should wish to go after him as well, and history tells us they usually are, he has no recourse and will likely see criminal charges and jail time.
Thus, gun dealers get fewer and fewer, guns get rarer and you get de facto gun control in many areas. It's not so far fetched as some believe. All you need do is read a quote or two by the Brady's or their allies to know that that is exactly what they want, and this is just one more little piece in the puzzle of them getting it.
It seems near impossible to go more than a week without hearing New York's Mayor Bloomberg speak for the rest of us. Recently, he has travelled to Capitol Hill to speak against legislation that would keep gun sales records from being used against dealers who steal guns that are later used in crimes.
The mayor had this to say:
“We'll do everything we can to continue the fight against guns on the streets of our big cities. This is not something that has to do with the right to bear arms. This is not a Republican or a Democratic thing,” said the mayor. “We're trying to go after a handful of unscrupulous dealers. One percent of all of the dealers in this country sell 60 percent of the guns used in committing crimes. Those are the ones that we want to go after."
While I appreciate the Mayor's position, what should probably color any analysis of it is who is immediately praising Bloomberg for this testimony.
He earned the praise of Jim and Sarah Brady. This week marks the 25th anniversary of Brady's shooting in the assassination attempt on President Reagan.
"Too many Americans continue to have their families torn apart by gun violence, and we all owe Mayor Bloomberg a great deal of praise," Jim Brady said. "A lot of public officials talk about standing up to the special interests - Mayor Bloomberg is really doing it."
"We're extremely grateful to have the Mayor fighting to make sure our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to get crime guns off the streets," said Sarah Brady. "Efforts in Congress to coddle the gun lobby must stop."
If the Brady Bunch is praising you, that makes your actions a little suspect. In Bloomberg's case, he has made no secret that he is an old-school Big City politico when it comes to guns. He hates them, hates that anyone in the country has them and wants them all banned, just like in crime-free New York. Would that we could all be as saintly as such a Machine politician as Bloomberg. Perish the thought.
Yes, I can see the value in having the records on hand for the one percent or so of dealers who seem to habitually sell mass quantities to questionable sources. However, the ATF knows who they are anyway and can nail them if they step out of line. A gun registry can and has been used by unscrupulous regimes both local and at higher levels to confiscate firearms, though. It can also be used to arrest a dealer who sells a gun to someone who can buy it legally, then it gets stolen or used in a crime of passion or some similar tragedy. Now that dealer is liable, and fully expect that anyone the Brady's endorse would wholeheartedly agree with this, for the gun sale in a criminal fashion. If the authorities should wish to go after him as well, and history tells us they usually are, he has no recourse and will likely see criminal charges and jail time.
Thus, gun dealers get fewer and fewer, guns get rarer and you get de facto gun control in many areas. It's not so far fetched as some believe. All you need do is read a quote or two by the Brady's or their allies to know that that is exactly what they want, and this is just one more little piece in the puzzle of them getting it.
posted by Rob Beck | 7:01 AM
1 Comments:
I think Bloomberg's on to something. Two soft drink manufacturers sell the majority of fizzy drinks to all rapists. Therefore, to help reduce rapes, we should follow Bloomberg's logic and go after Coke & Pepsi.
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