Author: Sebastian

Bloomberg wants the best gun control money can buy. Now he’s crapping all over Oregon trying to keep a bill banning private transfers in the Beaver State alive and well. Bloomberg is also dumping another $400,000 bucks against Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, and funding a 100-day bus tour for MAIG. He continues to pour money into running campaign ads for Mark Pryor in Arkansas by letting everyone know he’s a pro-gun Democrat.

But all kidding aside, Bloomberg’s money can do serious harm. Politicians will fear what Bloomberg’s money can buy. Money in politics is so important, it’s going to take millions of us just to counter what Bloomberg can put into a race. Traditionally gun owners are much better at negative reinforcement than positive reinforcement, in other words, we’re better at voting those who cross us out of office than working to help keep people who vote with us in office. If people want to understand why we can’t, for instance, get the Hughes Amendment repealed, this is why. If you’re only good on defense, you convince people to play defense for you, but convincing them to go on the offense gets harder. Also, if you can’t defend the people who vote with you, you’ll run out of friends in a legislature quickly.

In 2014, destroying Bloomberg has to be a top priority, and that means every race he dumps money into, he loses. That means politicians like Ayotte are going to need our boots on the ground to counter his money. If Bloomberg can show his money can buy elections, the pendulum on this issue is going to swing, and swing hard. Our biggest asset is that everyone generally thinks Bloomberg is a rich asshole, but rich assholes can buy elections. But money isn’t any substitute for the hard mechanics of coalition building, community organizing, and getting people out to the polls on election day. If that weren’t the case, Mitt Romney would be President right now.

Anti-gun folks gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg to demand gun control, in what looks to be a Bloomberg branded event.

Those at the gun violence prevention rally – including representatives from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, CeaseFirePA, Mothers in Charge and others – are supporting three bills in particular:

•  House Bill 1010: Introduced by Santarsiero in March, this bill would amend the state’s current background checks policy to include long guns like assault rifles and shotguns.
•  House Bill 1479: Introduced by State Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia, on Monday, this bill would prohibit large capacity magazines.
•  House Bill 1515: Introduced Wednesday by State Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery, this bill would require individuals report when their firearms are lost or stolen.

Boyle’s limit on high-capacity magazines bill, perhaps the boldest of the three measures, is about “protecting human life,” he said.

These are likely going to be the first bills we’re going to be facing if the power structure in the PA legislature switches from R to D. It doesn’t look like much of a crowd, to be honest, when you compare it to the crowd the pro-2A community turned out in April without our state being under any serious threat.

They continue to decline. A Rasmussen poll released yesterday shows that only 37% of voters give him positive reviews, while 46% give him a poor rating. Also, the poll shows Republicans have the edge over Democrats when it comes to trust on the gun issue. But I thought gun control was popular?

Madigan says the Governor needs more time:

The legislature has passed a bill to end private transfers in Nevada. They are already attacking the Governor on the issue. It is essentially backdoor registration. If you live in Nevada, call the Governor and demand he veto the bill.