Brady Campaign

27 posts

Backlash, finally.

This is very interesting. Less than 48 hours after the shooting at the Highlands Ranch STEM school, a surrogate group for the Brady Campaign organized a “vigil” for the victims.

Of course, the Brady Campaign doesn’t do things like this out of the goodness of their hearts, and the whole thing was a clumsy attempt at politicizing the tragedy. That’s nothing new, but what is new is the fact that many of the students stormed out, specifically citing their dismay at the event. Their sentiments are echoed by parents and even the families of the victims.

Even more interesting is that this isn’t just being covered by right-wing blogs. The mainstream press has picked up on it. Hopefully, this is the moment things break and people start calling out the gun-control movement for its predatory and morbid tactics.

The Brady Campaign was once known as Handgun Control Inc. By the late 1980’s, it became apparent that the general public wasn’t interested in banning handguns, so everybody switched to the “assault weapons” meme.

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Civil Rights

Crocodile Tears

There’s a sad-sack story being circulated by gun-control advocates about Lonnie and Sandy Phillips. In essence, the claim is that they’re being bankrupted by an evil gun retailer who knowingly armed the Aurora movie theater shooter.

The truth is something altogether different.

The lawsuit itself [pdf] was an attempt to hold online dealers culpable because they sold ammunition without a background check. There is no law in Colorado, or on the federal level, mandating such a practice.

Notice the “should have known” clauses:

Defendants in this case knew, should have known, or knew that it was substantially certain, that in his state of mental instability Holmes would present a danger to society if he were allowed to possess dangerous materiel. Nonetheless, Defendants negligently supplied and entrusted him with the materiel he used to launch his assault.

As an experienced ammunition seller, The Sportsman’s Guide should have known or knew that it was substantially certain that ammunition should not be supplied to persons who may pose a foreseeable risk of harm, including persons with dangerous mental illnesses such as Holmes.

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Civil Rights

Vultures

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A group of families, organized by the law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, is planning to bring a wrongful death suit against Bushmaster Firearms because one of the company’s rifles was used in the Sandy Hook shooting. In theory, such a lawsuit would be forbidden by the Protection in Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. In practice, it’s not as clear.

A Bushmaster rifle was also used in the 2002 DC Beltway shootings. The Brady Campaign brought suit against them, and the company eventually settled. Doing so set a terrible precedent, and the lawyers smell blood in the water.

Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder has taken a keen interest in product-liability lawsuits against gun manufacturers, and their campaign contributions run a close parallel to those of the Brady Campaign. I expect to see a statement from the latter supporting this in the coming days.

BTW, the screen grab in the header was from a loopy media campaign the Bradys did a few years back.

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Civil Rights

Bloomberg’s Paper Trail

There have been some questions about the exact relationship between Michael Bloomberg’s New York City Hall staff and his employees at Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Judicial Watch obtained over 500 pages of emails through an FOIA request, and they have it posted here [huge pdf file].

The chain of emails begins a couple of hours before the Sandy Hook shootings on December 14, 2012 and continues through January. Their intention to take control of the debate, even before the White House and Congress have had a chance to respond, is almost immediately apparent.

Civil Rights

Vesely v. Armslist Dismissed

In 2011, a Canadian national named Demetry Smirnov illegally purchased a handgun that had been advertised on Armslist. He then used that handgun to kill Jitka Vesel. With the support of the Brady Center, Vesel’s next of kin decided to sue Armslist for wrongful death.

This one had me a bit concerned. Although the PLCAA prohibits nuisance liability lawsuits against manufacturers of firearms, there isn’t any explicit protection for sellers or event organizers. Had this been a win for plaintiffs, it could have set a destructive precedent, and it would have started a tidal wave of litigation.

Armslist filed a Motion to Dismiss in the Northern District Court of Illinois, and Judge Norgle has granted it [pdf].

[T]he Court finds that the criminal conduct of third-parties who misuse Defendant’s website to illegally sell and buy firearms is not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the website’s design. (…) The Court finds that Defendant owes no duty to the general public to operate its website to control private users’ sale of handguns.

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Civil Rights

Now for the Fallout

It would be an understatement to say that people are angry at George Zimmerman’s acquittal. The Department of Justice is reviewing a possible civil-rights case, and representatives for Trayvon Martin’s family (read: Jesse Jackson and the usual vultures) are planning civil action.

It won’t stop there. Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law will come under immense scrutiny in the coming weeks and months. Expect the same in other states.

When the ball started rolling in 2005, opponents referred to these as “shoot to kill” laws. The phrase “license to kill” was also thrown about quite a bit. The Brady Campaign erected a billboard on I-75 at the Georgia/Florida border in an attempt to frighten tourists about it. They made it an uphill battle, but the law passed in Florida, and over twenty other states would follow.

Now we’re edging back to square one. Dan Gross released a statement today on the matter, and we can expect the Brady Campaign to make repealing or weakening these laws their top priority.

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Civil Rights

Heidi Yewman

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Heidi is a board member for the Brady Campaign. A few years ago, she decided to manufacture a controversy out of Starbucks’ non-policy gun policy. Starbucks refused to bow to the pressure, and they continue to allow patrons to carry in their restaurants.

A normal adult would look at that loss and say, “you win some, you lose some.” A normal adult would get on with her life. Not Heidi. There is something very troubling about her logic.

In an article for Ms. magazine, she outlines a plan to buy a gun and pursue absolutely no training. She admits with no real remorse that she doesn’t know how to tell whether it’s loaded or not. Even worse, she’s going to carry it on her person for the next month. The denouement of her article describes her sitting in a Starbucks location (note the clumsy attempt at irony) in this manner:

Today, they have a woman with absolutely no firearms training and a Glock on her hip sitting within arm’s reach of small children, her hands shaking and adrenaline surging.

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Civil Rights

Brady Center v. City of Nelson, Georgia et al

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And now for something truly surreal. The city of Nelson (population 1300) has passed an ordinance that requires all heads of household to keep and maintain a firearm.

In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain and firearm, together with ammunition therefor.

Apparently, the school system could use some extra funding, but I digress.

Like the Kennesaw ordinance that presumably inspired it, the law contains no penalty for noncompliance and it exempts people with disabilities, felons, paupers, and those with beliefs that contradict firearms ownership. It’s a symbolic thing.

Of course, that doesn’t deter the Brady Campaign in the least, and they found a plaintiff to challenge its constitutionality. This is where it gets really odd.

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Civil Rights

Hyperbole

I’m on the Brady Campaign’s mailing list. It’s a long story, but nobody there has figured out that Pynchon Voltaire isn’t my real name yet. Anyhow, they sent this out today in response to the Senate hearings:

We support President Obama’s comprehensive plan to prevent gun violence. His legislative plan – which includes measures such as universal criminal background checks for all gun buyers – can immediately reduce gun injuries and deaths across America.

That’s a pretty big promise to make, and it’s an impossible one to keep. Of course, they really don’t have to worry about it, since the general public tends to forget such things quickly.

But I’m not the general public. That sounded very familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I’m grateful to Robb Allen for finding it:

The Brady bill will make the streets of America so safe that our nation’s police will not even need to carry guns anymore.

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Civil Rights

A Time to Mourn

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Emotions are still raw from Friday’s shooting in Sandy Hook. We want explanations. That’s natural. The media and legal system will examine Adam Lanza’s history and mental health in detail in the coming weeks, but in the final accounting, those answers may be inconclusive and unsatisfying.

Certainly none will come from politicians who jumped into the fray to capitalize on this. Less than an hour after the first reports, the Brady Campaign sent out a press release calling for new legislation. Dianne Feinstein and Charles Schumer spoke of it “finally being time” and of this incident serving as a “tipping point” before we even knew the exact name of the shooter or what weapons he’d actually used.

The “conversation” we keep hearing the pundits bandy about on the evening news isn’t any such thing. It’s a set of canned talking points and legislative proposals that predated this massacre. The new laws being pushed are the same old laws that get reintroduced every year.

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Civil Rights

New President for the Brady Campaign

Since Paul Helmke stepped down last year, Dennis Henigan has been serving as active president. Today, the Brady Campaign announced that Daniel Gross would be taking the reins.

Gross was formerly the director of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence. I can’t find much about their funding. They were previously known as PAX, who received a $200,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation in 2004, but the trail appears to stop there.

Given that the Brady Campaign’s budget has fallen into the four-digit range, I’m curious as to whether this guy is bringing in further funding, as they can’t be paying him much.

Or, it might just be a part-time gig for him to build his resume.

Civil Rights

Mulford Act: Full Circle

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 144 into law, making open carry of any sort a misdemeanor.

Since 1967, there’s been a loophole in § 12031 that allows an unlicensed citizen to carry a handgun, as long as it’s visible and unloaded. It’s a questionable mode of carry, but at least it’s an option when others are not available. Now, Californians don’t even have that. Who’s to blame? Portantino? Brown? Nope. We are.

For over 40 years, the whole technicality was something of an open secret, but it was never front-page news. That is, until a bunch of pro-gun folks decided it was their mission to make it an issue. They wanted controversy, and they succeeded. Now, California citizens are worse off, and the Brady Campaign can chalk up a win.

Losing is still losing, no matter how righteous some thought they might have been. This didn’t have to happen.

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Info Dump

At Least He Hacks Off the Bradys

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I was incorrect in a previous article, and I’d like to post a correction. Steve Perry, the beloved singer from arena rock band Journey, is not running for the Republican Presidential nomination. I regret the misunderstanding and assure the readership that swift punishment will be meted out. There will be demerits.

As it turns out, the actual candidate is Rick Perry, shown here displaying some truly wretched muzzle and trigger discipline:

Way to set an example, Rick.

The Brady Campaign wasted no time putting the shot to good use, issuing a press release on the matter.

The Republican primary campaign has hardly begun and already it is being dominated by extremists. None as scary as Rick Perry who brazenly carries weapons – concealed and revealed. Even on the campaign trail!

Only an egotistical extremist would carry a loaded weapon into a crowd – encouraging others to do so. Is this where America is headed?

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Civil Rights

Crossed Wires on Gun Control

I came home to two different emails tonight. The news is good, and unintentionally amusing. Both messages regard Monday’s Department of Justice announcement that gun dealers in the southwest would be required to report multiple sales of rifles to the ATF. The first is from the NRA-ILA:

House Committee Passes Amendment to Defund Illegal Obama Firearm Sales Reporting Requirement

Today, during consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16.

The Rehberg Amendment, which was strongly supported by NRA, will defund the Justice Department’s controversial and illegal move requiring federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

That’s good news, and my hat’s off to Denny Rehberg.

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Civil Rights

Paul Helmke Retiring

There aren’t many details yet, but Paul Helmke, current President of the Brady Campaign, has announced his retirement. He served since 2006.

Bringing him on was a shrewd move for the Brady Campaign. Helmke was ostensibly a Republican. He presented himself as a moderate, and he was a master of spin who helped tailor their image accordingly. Under Helmke, we started hearing phrases like “sensible gun laws” and “reasonable regulation” more often.

He vehemently opposed the Heller case, but immediately after the decision, he pronounced it a victory for their agenda. He deftly turned a direct idealogical loss in the McDonald case into a set of talking points about what current and potential restrictions would or wouldn’t pass constitutional muster.

Ten years ago, this guy could have been truly frightening, but his tenure came a bit too late. The culture and the debate have changed, and even he couldn’t render the Bradys’ message palatable to the general public.

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Civil Rights

Plaxico Burress and the Brady Campaign

Plaxico Burress caught the pass that won the Giants the 2007 Super Bowl. Nine months later, he caught a bullet in the leg. He’d been carrying a firearm in a New York nightclub, tucked into his pants with no holster. The weapon dropped down his pants leg, and when he tried to catch it, he depressed the trigger.

He was later arrested and served two years in prison for illegally carrying a firearm. Now he’s out, and he’s working for the Brady Campaign. According to their press release,

[H]is direct, and painful, experience with a gun in a nightclub in 2008 had taught him a lot of lessons. It had taught him, ultimately, that guns make everything worse.

Of course, professional football players are experts on gun safety, just like they’re experts on the humane treatment of animals.

Hoping to slow their decline into utter irrelevancy, the Brady Campaign will grab at whatever straw they can.

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Civil Rights Humor

Assault Clips

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Nobody knows for sure what made Clippy snap. Perhaps it was the cocaine. Maybe it was the way Steve Ballmer would sneak up and grope him when they were alone in the break room. For all we know, he hit the breaking point when he turned on the television and saw himself being voiced by Gilbert Gottfried.

All we know is that the 21st century wasn’t being kind to Clippy, and he wasn’t taking it anymore.

One January morning in 2000, he showed up at the Microsoft offices in Redmond with a Glock 19 and a 33-round magazine. There would be blood. Oh yes, there would be blood.

However, Clippy’s rampage was cut mercifully short by the fact that he lacked fingers and was unable to operate the gun. King County deputies arrested him on weapons charges. He took an insanity defense, and he’s currently getting the help he needs.

I wish the same could be said of the Brady Campaign.

Civil Rights

All Quiet on the 2nd Amendment Front

The Brady Campaign sent me an email this morning to let me know who they’re endorsing for tomorrow’s mid-term elections. I have to say, the list is pretty thin. This could be due to the fact that they only have $5,661 in cash to spend this cycle.

Mayors Against Illegal guns gave $150,000 to the Raben Group to spend on something, though I don’t know what. Founder Robert Raben also sits on the board of directors of the Alliance for Justice, a group that represents several progressive political causes, but doesn’t seem involved in gun control.

Josh Sugarmann’s Violence Policy Center currently shows a balance of zero. That’s a bit odd, since the Joyce Foundation has pumped roughly $2.1 million into various other groups under the ostensible heading of “Gun Violence.” Still, that money appears to be targeted towards university and community research programs, rather than towards political endorsements.

Civil Rights

D.C Voting Rights Act Dead

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Some folks may remember last summer’s dust-up over this. There was a bill before Congress to get the District of Columbia a seat in the House. John Ensign tacked the Second Amendment Enforcement Act onto it, and it became something of a poison pill. Democrats were unable to excise his amendment, and if the District was to get a house seat, they’d have to comply with the Heller ruling.

Rather than risk abandoning the District’s unconstitutional and disastrous regulations, Congress chose to simply drop the whole matter completely.

Well, history repeats itself, though rarely this quickly. This year’s version quickly found the Ensign amendment attached to it, and again Congress chose not to decide.

Paul Helmke’s response was to gloat, calling the whole thing a “Faustian bargain” and voicing his pleasure that the District would be sticking to its guns, even if it cost them something advocates of DC statehood consider to be a huge priority.

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Civil Rights

Starbucks in the Crosshairs

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I’ve had an on-again-off-again relationship with Starbucks for as long as I can remember. Their prepared drinks are spendy, but as a guy who grinds his own, I’ve found their Cafe Verona to be very versatile, and the Ethiopian Sidamo balances nicely with steamed milk.

I’d never really considered their policy on guns. Heck, it’s a coffee shop. It’s frequented by pseudo-intellectuals whose offspring are white kids with dreadlocks. Despite the lack of any signage stating so, I’d always assumed they wouldn’t be too fond of guns.

Therefore, it came as something of a pleasant surprise to find out that they’re not caving to pressure from the Brady Campaign to ban guns from their stores.

I may have to spend more money there.

Civil Rights

Schadenfreude

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Well, it looks like I agree with Sarah Brady on one thing, at least.

The Brady Campaign gave President Obama an “F” rating on gun-control issues in a report issued this week [pdf].

In just one year, Barack Obama has signed into law more repeals of federal gun policies than in President George W. Bush’s eight years in office. From the repeal of Reagan Era rules keeping loaded guns out of national parks to the repeal of post-9/11 policies to safeguard Amtrak from armed terrorist attacks, President Obama’s stance on guns has endangered our communities and threatened our national security.

That first sentence is particularly telling. Obama knows the new truth when it comes to gun control: paying lip service to it is a great rhetorical ploy, but attempting to follow through is political suicide. Now he’s in a rather unenviable position: he was expected to support gun control, but he lacks the wherewithal to do so.

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Civil Rights

The Day the Earth Got Flatter

Here it is Monday, and the administration is keeping quiet about the climate-change fraud conundrum. The only word I’ve heard comes from climate czar Carol Browner, who stated,

I’m sticking with the 2,500 scientists. These people have been studying this issue for a very long time and agree this problem is real (…) [people calling for action] are a very small group of people who continue to say this isn’t a real problem, that we don’t need to do anything.

At least she stops short of calling us “deniers” or “flat earthers.”

Which is better than I can say for Al Gore. His new book is called, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, and it opens with this happy quote from Deuteronomy: “I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses.”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gore thinks very highly of himself.

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Civil Rights

McDonald v. Chicago: Brady Weighs In

So, they got theirs up just under the wire. The Brady Campaign brief is pretty much exactly what I expected.

The whole thing is about “reasonable regulation” and “public interest.” Without weighing in on incorporation, they simply beg for a standard of review that’s as close to rational basis as they can get without calling it such.

They dig pretty deep (Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc.?) to prove that strict scrutiny doesn’t usually apply across the board for civil liberties, and they seem to encourage such a situation.

If anything, the Left needs to tread very carefully when praising infringements on 1st and 4th Amendment rights.

Their usual arrogance comes through on page 5:

Gun policy is best determined as it always has been in this country: in the political arena, without courts second-guessing reasoned legislative judgments.

I guess they didn’t read this week’s 7th Circuit opinion, because they rest part of their case on this:

Our society’s broad acceptance of firearms regulations is confirmed by the fact that while over forty states have constitutions with right-to-keep-and-bear-arms provisions, not one reviews such restrictions under heightened scrutiny.

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Civil Rights

McDonald v. Chicago: Briefs Pending

The deadline for amicus curiae briefs in the McDonald case is November 23. Chicago filed for an extension, and their brief is now due on December 30.

Two Senators and two Representatives have drafted a brief in support of the plaintiffs, and we’d like to see it receive as many signatures from other legislators as possible. Please contact your congressmen and ask them to sign this brief.

Ordnance

Marketing: 1935 and Now

When FN Herstal came out with the 5.7x28mm cartridge (and the accompanying Five-seveN pistol) a few years back, there was a bit of hand-wringing in certain circles over its ability to pierce body armor.

Bear in mind, the 5.7mm is really a souped-up .22 WMR, not some >5000 ft/s barnburner. It’s not the first (or only) gun made that’ll punch through body armor. Yet, everyone got their panties in a bunch over it.

Civil Rights

SA 1618: The Thune Amendment

2 comments

SA 1618 is an amendment to S. 1390, a bill authorizing appropriations for the Department of Defense for the 2010 fiscal year. The amendment seeks,

[t]o amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another State that grants concealed carry permits, if the individual complies with the laws of the State.

There are 21 cosponsors including Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Naturally, the Left is pissed, which means it stands a chance.

Civil Rights

Pravda, Brady Style

They’re sticking to their guns, so to speak. Despite watching their agenda slip away, the Brady Campaign continues to put a sunny face on things. Their response to the 9th Circuit Nordyke decision reads,

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld Alameda County’s ordinance banning possession and sales of firearms on county-owned property, that was enacted to end gun shows on county fairgrounds.

“We are pleased that the court recognized that the Second Amendment does not prevent state and local governments from enacting common-sense gun laws,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Actually, that’s not the case at all. The ruling narrowly allowed Almeida County to ban guns from county-owned property. It did not allow anything further. To the contrary, the main story with the Nordyke case was that the 2nd Amendment is incorporated against State and local governments through the Due Process clause of the 14th.

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