In the meantime, Paul Helmke of Brady Campaign calls the hint “the most significant statement any president has made on gun violence in over a decade,” with no apparent awareness of just pitiful that sounds.
Is he including Bush’s half-hearted murmurings about renewing the assault weapons ban? I don’t even know if we can get Barry to say “assault weapon,” let alone suggesting we ban them. Of course, if you look at the Brady home page, now they’re all about assault clips. I can imagine if you threw one of these at me hard enough, it might kinda hurt.
Isn’t the Brady website, by definition, constitutional assault clips?
-Gene
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/14/obama-gun-policy-meetings_n_835453.html
Apparently he’s been talking to our side as well?
From the HuffPo article: “The principal debate, then, will likely center around the application of background-check standards to private dealers….”
Not sure where that came from since it isn’t the “private dealer’s” job–or within their ability–to add somebody to the NICS no-buy list. That’s for law enforcement, family members, or school security teams–just to name a few of the people who failed to do their duty in regards to Laughner.
If Obama or Holder really want to “respond” to Tucson, they should look at the absolute failure of all those groups who interacted with Laughner to bring his well-documented and often-noted crazy behavior to the attention of the FBI, let alone local state authorities. There are a lot of complex & multifaceted problems (due process, etc.) around no buy lists, no fly lists, involuntary commitment and the like, but what’s not in dispute is that nobody took it as their responsibility to actually do anything about Laughner to alert the gun stores not to sell to him. Apparently he held his shit together long enough to fill out a 4473 (I’ve turned down people Ok’d by a call to NICS who DIDN’T hold it together that long–I’m sure most gun sellers have) and wait while the FBI hotline got called….and cleared him to buy.
The failure in Tucson has nothing to do with gun dealers, and treating it as if it does will have no effect at all at stopping the next nutjob who goes off the rails from doing the same thing because it will be “solving” the wrong problem. The problem is in how the public, police and family are trained and equipped to deal with the mentally ill, especially the dangerously so.
I also really want to know when these people are going to get through their thick skulls that the proper term for “private dealer” is “felon.”
LC:
If he was, I wouldn’t be privy to it. But even a bill as modest as more incentives for states to report mental health records wouldn’t be given up for nothing. I’d be willing to make that trade in exchange for something. National reciprocity? The deal would have to be we sent you that bill, and you agree to sign it, provided it has the incentive bill he spoke of.
I should add, the trade has to be overall favorable to us. Trading away private sales even for national reciprocity would not, for instance, be acceptable.
Y’all better start panickin’ now, because the fix is in with both the NRA and the GOP:
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/03/they-really-think-they-can-get-away.html
There will be no Gunwalker hearings despite what they’ve said if it is left up to them. It is all kabuki theater.
Sellout bastards.
Your source is “on or near the NRA board.” Since when do the people in Fairfax share sensitive information like that with their board members? If they were talking to Obama, I don’t think there’s anyone on the Board who’d be in a position to know.
Ya know, when O talks about meeting with people from both sides of the isle….the isle is the VPC on the left repping the grabbers, and likes of Bryan Miller on the right repping *gun safety advocates*.
I’ll believe it when emails from NRA/2AF/GOA or any other gun right’s org come through the interwebs saying they’ve met with O.
Yeah, I’m sure the NRA announced it ahead of time for comment by the members when they
a. cut the deal on the NFA 34
b. Cut the deal on the GCA 68
c. cut the deal on the 1986 machine gun ban.
d. cut the deal on Brady.
Oh, yeah, happens ALL the time. (eyes rolling).
Ask yourself this: how many times have my sources and me been wrong about this scandal since 28 December? Exactly twice. The initial rumors said that Terry was killed with an AR and it turned out to be an AK. Second, my spook friend didn’t know about the pilot project that “Gunwalker Bill” Newell was running off the books in Tucson in 2008. Both errors were fixed with days.
And if ATF agents, “mainstream” reporters, and Congresscritters trust me to help them out, what makes you think NRA board members and NRA employees at Fairfax don’t?
Oh. we’ll drag LaPierre and Co. kicking and screaming to Gunwalker hearings, all right. Just don’t think afterward that they did it willingly.
I guess it is hard to explain how somebody you so consistently hate and denigrate is so consistently RIGHT, ain’t it?
Yeah, hard to explain. ;-)
Says MVB:
Here’s what ought to be demanded of the NRA: In order to “concentrate the minds” of Issa, Smith and Company, the NRA ought to make both Project Gunwalker investigative hearings and general ATF oversight hearings part of the grade for politicos they are so fond of waving in people’s faces. Vote for hearings or get an “F”. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. Tell them you don’t believe what they say, you will only believe what they DO.
One problem with this, there aren’t votes on hearings that can be graded. That’s generally something the chairman decides, and if Leahy (who won’t want hearings) and Smith (who has been calling for answers, so far) can’t make it happen, there’s not going to be anything to grade.
Here’s an idea that somebody might want to whisper in Wayne’s ear: How about if we have GOA and other gun rights groups sponsor our own unofficial hearings at the National Press Club in front of C-Span3? Complete with Congressmen to ask the questions, whistleblower ATF agents, ATF victims and Ramsey A. Bear (another scandal both NRA and NFATCA have ignored) to testify. Accompanied, of course, by statements of perplexed disappointment at how the NRA and GOP “leadership” forced us to do it by ourselves because they weren’t interested?
And that, my friends, is eminently doable.
Unless the NRA makes Gunwalker investigative hearings and follow-up ATF oversight hearings a gradable vote (ain’t that what y’all are SO proud of?) then that’s what they’re going to get.
More than one “French Mistake” out there, you know?
Ain’t we little stinkers?
I don’t hate you. Those are your words. You’re right in your own mind most of the time, I’m sure. In the real world, you were right on there being a story behind the rumors of gunwalker, but until the agents blew the whistle and provided evidence, they were just rumors. There’s an old saying about a stopped clock that comes to mind.
“One problem with this, there aren’t votes on hearings that can be graded. That’s generally something the chairman decides, and if Leahy (who won’t want hearings) and Smith (who has been calling for answers, so far) can’t make it happen, there’s not going to be anything to grade.”
The hell there isn’t and you know it. If the NRA demands that every Congresscritter who wants their support better get behind immediate hearings, putting their signatures on a petition to the leadership if nothing else, hearings will happen. Just like an NRA mook, to hide behind process as an excuse.
Your opinion of how much sway NRA has in DC is up there with the Bradys. I’m glad you think so highly of the enormity of their political power.
I should also note that if you want answers, some kind of unofficial dog and pony show isn’t going to accomplish much of anything. You need senior ATF and DOJ people there testifying under oath. Only Congress can do that.