SHOT Show Coverage

The anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced they have expanded their ranks again, adding 29 additional mayors to their coalition.  This group staunchly opposes the rights of the individual to keep and bear arms for self defense and other lawful purposes in the name of “public safety.”

“The ranks of our coalition continue to grow with like-minded mayors who believe in common sense practices to keep streets safe and guns out of the hands of criminals,” said coalition co-chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The mayors were also briefed on the Mayors Against Illegal Guns federal legislative agenda.  The coalition has proposed a four-point plan to fix the background check system, including:

1. Closing the “gun show loophole”;
2. Requiring gun dealers to perform criminal background checks on all gun-handling employees;
3. Closing the “fire sale loophole” that allows dealers whose licenses have been revoked to continue to sell their inventory; and
4. Closing the terror gap that leaves those on the terrorist no-fly list off the list of prohibited purchasers of firearms.

I really believe the ‘gun show loophole’ is the first gun-related item that Congress will go after.  As I have discussed before, there is no “loophole.”  Gun shows have nothing to do with this legislative agenda.  All dealers are required to do a background check prior to selling a firearm to anyone at a gunshow or elsewhere.

The real issue that the gun grabbers are going after is more government tracking of private property.  The private transfer of property from one individual to the next should be free of government scrutiny in a free society.  However, if the anti-gun folks get their way and stop the private transfer of firearms, a father will no longer be able to pass his guns to his son without going through a dealer.  A husband could no longer give his wife a gun for Christmas.  A daughter could not buy her father a custom shotgun for his birthday.

The alleged “terror gap” is especially scary.  No one seems to know how someone winds up on the “no-fly” list and no one seems to know how to get off of it.  There is not any due process associated with inclusion on the list; a government worker just puts you on there.  And now Bloomberg and the other anti-gun zealots want to prevent anyone on the list from purchasing a firearm.  I hope I don’t have to explain how bad this is, but in case I do, here goes:

Bloomberg would like to prevent a US citizen from buying a firearm, when he or she has no criminal record and no history of mental illness, but was placed on a list that no one has access to and was placed there by an unknown person for unknown reasons, AND the person on the list has never been notfied or allowed any opportunity to clear his or her good name.  Mayors Against Illegal Guns calls this a “common sense” gun law.

As I addressed in another article, we all have to be involved at the local level.  Politicians rarely jump onto the national stage without climbing the state and local political ladder.  If someone is anti-gun, work to defeat them on the small stage so they never have the chance to reach the big one.

Most of these mayors in Bloomberg’s coalition are from relatively small cities and towns.  This means they are accessible to you and their other constituants.  Schedule time with them to sit down and explain your views and opinions on the Second Amendment and how you cannot support anyone who is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns or any other group that would curtail your rights.

By getting involved at the local level, we can ensure a better future.