Category: Guns

Kirsten, Kirsten, why have thou forsaken me?   Gillibrand voted no on the DC gun rights amendment.  I think at this point, it is safe to say that my public advocacy for her is at an end.  In the battle to influence Gilly, and convince her to keep her A rating on the gun issue, gun owners in New York and elsewhere have lost, and the New York Times, Newsday, and Michael Bloomberg have won.

I do not regret my early advocacy for her.  She came out of the house with an A-rating and a solid, if not long record of being pro-gun, including supporting key issues like ATF reform, Tiahrt, Heller, DC gun rights, and other things.  She is still likely to be better than the likely Democratic or Republican alternatives.  New York is not Tennessee, Texas, or even Pennsylvania on the gun issue.  It will be a long road back to somebody like Al D’Amato for New York gun owners.

It is a stark lesson that principles often take a back seat in politics.  I’ve had it on good word from people who have dealt with Kirsten Gillibrand that she was a real believer in the Second Amendment, and I have little doubt she is, but she’s obviously more of a believer in winning elections.  She’s early in her political career, and has been elevated, with very little money in her campaign fund, to a state wide Senatorial office.  She’s facing the very real prospect of a primary challenge from the left, followed up by a tough battle against her Republican opponent.  She will likely never be more politically weak than she is right now, and she might, ultimately, end up defeated.  I still hold out the possibility that the Kirsten Gillibrand who emerges from all this, won’t be anti-gun, but for now, she’s on her own.  If gun owners in New York want to make the strategic move of supporting her because she’s better than the awful alternatives, that’s up to them, but she has a lot to make up to me before I’ll support her again.

I’m told that there’s been a pro-gun amendment attached to the bill giving DC representation in Congress. It basically guts Washington DC gun control regulations, and preempts City Council from further regulation. The amendment passed 62-36.

I am also hearing that Holder’s comments were instrumental in helping bring this issue back up, and picking up the votes it needed. So thanks Eric! We really appreciate the help getting this amendment tacked on to a must-pass bill for the Democrats!

This bill is too important for the Democrats for Obama not to sign it. It is a giveaway to an important political constituency, the part of it that gives DC representation is also completely unconstitutional to boot! So that part is likely to be thrown out by the courts.

Looks like today has gone from gloomy to pretty good!

UPDATE: Yep, NRA confirms there’s indeed been a vote.  If DC wants representation, they have to follow the Constitution.

UPDATE: Final bill passes the Senate with 61 votes.

Don’t let this stop you from contacting your Critters, but this is welcome news:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tossed cold water on the prospect of reinstating the assault weapons ban, highlighting Democrats’ reluctance to take on gun issues.

Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday that the administration would push to bring back the ban. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her. The Speaker gave a flat “no” when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.

“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “I think it’s clear the Bush administration didn’t do that.”

That’s not a clear “we’re not going to do it,” but it’s about as close as you’ll get from Pelosi.  Keep pressure on Congress.  I will be doing a more detailed analysis later to see which critters should be targeted for calls, letters, etc.  That’s not to say all them shouldn’t be, but some are more important than others.  If the “blue dog” dems get hounded (no pun intended) with calls just from Holder opening his yap, it gives them a reason to remind the White House and leadership not to put them in a difficult spot.  It makes it less likely we’ll have to fight a bill.

Hat Tip to Blog o Stuff

Gillibrand is changing her position on Tiahrt, but still sticking to her “needs to fixed” language:

Gillibrand acknowledged backing Tiahrt’s repeal by signing the letter, an aide said, but denied making a 180-degree turn on the measure. Gillibrand said instead that Tiahrt needs to be “fixed.

“I have always supported law enforcement having access to all of the information they need to keep us safe, fight against gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” she said in a statement.

Gillibrand said there is language in Tiahrt that “specifically says that it will not limit data sharing for law enforcement.”

But she said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others “have made clear that the law does, on occasion, obstruct information-sharing for law enforcement.”

I don’t regret donating to her, because she’ll still be better than than likely alternatives.  McCarthy as a Senator would be a disaster for us.  If this is the issue she picked to part with us on, that’s fine if it helps her avoid a primary challenge from the left.  But it calls into question her reliability on other gun rights issues, and is why I put her down as a maybe on the AWB.  Remember that one of her predecessors, Al D’Amato, voted against the 1994.  It’s not out of the question that she will stick with us on that.  We need to pressure her, and give her reasons not to vote yes.