guns

The NRA likes to claim that it represents gun owners. But the truth is, it represents extreme positions more likely held by gun manufacturers than America’s responsible gun-owning families.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one group of responsible gun owners is taking a stand against the NRA. The Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show, in the wake of the tragic events at Sandy Hook, decided not to feature certain weapons at the event, including assault rifles.

This is their statement on their move:

As a hunting-focused event, we welcome exhibitors who wish to showcase products and firearms that serve the traditional needs of the sport. Clearly, we strongly support the 2nd Amendment. However, this year we have made the decision not to include certain products that in the current climate may attract negative attention that would distract from the strong focus on hunting and fishing at this family-oriented event and possibly disrupt the broader positive experience of our guests.

This set off an angry reaction by the NRA, which decided to pull out of the event altogether.

This move by this hunting show against the NRA could be the start of a movement, where responsible gun owners and hunters stand up to the group’s extreme views.

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Following President Obama’s push for tougher gun regulations, the National Rifle Association (NRA) claimed that it supported the spirit of one of his proposals: expanding background checks for gun buyers.

The press widely reported this NRA stance:

CBS: NRA President: Group supporting of tighter background checks (1/17/2013)
Associated Press: NRA chief says group accepts background checks (1/17/2013)
The Hill: NRA chief “generally supportive” of strong background checks (1/17/2013)

But shockingly, at the very same time the NRA was claiming to support tougher background checks, it helped oppose and kill several Virginia bills introduced to enact such a policy. Here’s an excerpt from an email the NRA sent to its members in Virginia over the weekend, bragging about killing the background check bills last week:

Senate Bill 1136,Ai??Senate Bill 1232Ai??andAi??Senate Bill 1281Ai??would require a background check on all private firearm transfers, including between family members.Ai??Ai??The NRA opposes SB 1136, SB 1232 and SB 1281, and all three Senate bills were defeated.
Senate Bill 911Ai??andAi??Senate Bill 1001Ai??would require a background check on all private firearm transfers at a gun show.Ai?? Under current law, only licensed dealers must obtain such a check.Ai?? SB 911 was rolled into SB 1001.Ai??Ai??Consideration on SB 1001, opposed by the NRA, was passed over for the day and may be heard on Monday, January 21 at 8:00 a.m.

The NRA appears to be saying one thing and doing another.

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The National Rifle Association (NRA), the main gun lobby, has refused to consider any common sense gun reforms following several mass shootings. It has instead chosen to be the primary group working to block reforms.

But the NRA wasn’t always so extreme. In fact, for the majority of its 141 year history, the organization backed gun regulation and rarely if ever claimed that regulations were unconstitutional.

In 1934, the group’s president Karl T. Frederick testified in support of certain gun regulations that later made it into the National Firearms Act of 1934, one of the first federal gun laws. The law regulated “gangster weapons” used by organized crime, such as machine guns and short barrel shotguns.

During the testimony, Congressman Clemon T. Dickinson of Missouri asked Frederick if he thought anything being debated was unconstitutional. Although Frederick replied that he thought firearm regulation was a state issue, he also said he had not “given it any study from that point of view” that regulating guns may be unconstitutional.

Frederick also explained his view about practical gun ownership, one that would be heretical among NRA leadership today:

Ai??I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. I have when I felt it was desirable to do so for my own protection. I know that applies in most of the instances where guns are used effectively in self-defense or in places of business and in the home. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.

Frederick did caution against over-regulating weapons during his testimony, but as the transcript above demonstrates, did not oppose all new gun regulations.

The NRA also went on to support the Gun Control Act of 1968. In …

Earlier this month, after President Obama struck a deal with Republicans to avert the fiscal cliff, a top official from a leading liberal organization accused the president of being “clueless about how to use leverage in a negotiation.” Adam Green, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, lamented in an interview with The New York Times, “Republicans publicly admitted they lost the tax debate and would be forced to cave, yet the president just kept giving stuff away.” But on Wednesday, Green and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, as well as a host of other like-minded groups that have not been shy about criticizing the president and challenging mainstream Democratic orthodoxy, were singing a far different tune. Stephanie Taylor, another co-founder of the liberal advocacy organization, offered support for the new gun control proposals unveiled at the White House just more than a month after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. “We applaud the White House plan to think big and take bold action against gun killings,” Taylor said in a statement. “The PCCC is all in for this fight, investing time and money in Republican and Democratic districts until Congress passes major gun legislation that includes an assault weapons ban.” The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is one of several groups that broke with the president during the recent fiscal cliff standoff, but are now standing ready to unleash their troops of grassroots activists as his administration pursues changes to the nation’s firearm laws.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)

This afternoon, President Obama unveiled a new package of gun reforms. Some of the far-right are already on the attack. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) issued a statement claiming Obama is showing “disdain” for the Second Amendment and instead said we must hold “Hollywood” accountable for gun violence:

“The Second Amendment is non-negotiable. The right to bear arms is a right, despite President Obama’s disdain for the Second Amendment and the Constitution’s limits on his power. Congress must stand firm for the entirety of the Constitution – even if, but particularly so, when President Obama seeks to ignore his obligation to ‘preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ Taking away the rights and abilities of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves is yet another display of the Obama Administration’s consolidation of power.”

“Washington and all of America must have a serious debate and honest discussion about what fuels a very small segment of the population to inflict harm and instill fear. This means holding Hollywood accountable for its culture of violence and death, and talking about mental health issues and the responsibilities of families and communities. Furthermore, Americans demand the Obama Administration enforce current laws. The latest information, according to Syracuse University, shows that federal weapons prosecutions are down dramatically – meaning that the Obama Administration is neglecting its obligation to enforce current law. Apparently public safety matters only when there’s political gain to be had. How can we expect them to act on new laws if they cannot even enforce the ones that currently exist?”

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Rep. Steve Roth (R-TX)

Today, President Obama introduced a sweeping package of gun reforms to Congress. Before Obama ever unveiled his proposal, the far-right was reacting with radical counter-proposals. In Texas, one state representative introduced a bill that would mandate the arrest any federal employee who tried to implement a law restricting semi-automatic firearms or the size of gun magazines:

Meanwhile,Ai??1200 WOAI reportsAi??that in Texas, Republican state Rep. Steve Toth plans to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to enforce in the state any federal laws restricting semi-automatic firearms or the size of gun magazines.

Toth told 1200 WOAI that the bill would also call for felony charges to be brought against federal officials who attempt to enforce any such rules.

“If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person is subject to criminal prosecution,” Toth told 1200 WOAI.

The proposed bill is unconstitutional, as the Constitution mandates that federal law trumps that of states.
UPDATE: Mississippi’s Republican governor has now called for a similar measure.

Click here to sign our pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common-sense reforms are passed.

Grassroots progressive groups pledged to get behind the gun violence prevention plan proposed by President Obama Wednesday. Less than an hour after Obama announced a sweeping plan to prevent gun deaths, including proposals to ban high-capacity magazines and so-called assault weapons as well as universal background checks for firearms purchases that require Congressional approval, progressive groups promised to use their sway to push the measures on Capitol Hill… The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also signed on to Obama’s legislative push on gun control. “The PCCC is all in for this fight, investing time and money in Republican and Democratic districts until Congress passes major gun legislation that includes an assault weapons ban,” said Stephanie Taylor, a co-founder of the group.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) response to the President’s gun violence prevention proposals just made:

“We applaud the White House plan to think big and take bold action against gun killings. The PCCC is all in for this fight, investing time and money in Republican and Democratic districts until Congress passes major gun legislation that includes an assault weapons ban.” –Ai??Stephanie Taylor, Co-Founder, PCCC

Click here to sign our pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common-sense reforms are passed.

A chart of global infant mortality rates in 2008

It is a conservative mantra that the United States has the best health care system in the world. But a just-released report casts doubt on this assertion by showing that health outcomes are worse in the United States than in 17 major developed countries (although the health care system is not the only factor).

Here are some highlights from the report, which was issued by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council:

Ai??The U.S. Has Abysmal Life Expectancy: In the 17 developed countries studied, the United States ranked last in life expectancy for men. For women, the U.S. ranks second-last.
Firearm Homicides Drag Down Life Expectancy: The report found that firearm homicides were twenty times higher in the United States than the other countries studied.
Infant Mortality And Health Among Children Is Worse In The United States: The U.S. had the highest infant mortality rate among all countries studied. Meanwhile, it’s young people had the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

The researchers also released this video to highlight the findings. Check it out:

We don’t think this is the sort of health care system we should have. Click here to join our Medicare for All campaign.

It’s time to look at sensible gun reforms. Click here to pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common sense reforms are enacted.

Phil Gingrey

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) is a staunch conservative. He has an “A” rating from the NRA and received the group’s endorsement in his last run for office.

But after the tragic events of Sandy Hook, even Gingrey is rethinking his views. In an interview with the Marietta Daily Journal, Gingrey talked about how he might be open to regulating high-capacity magazines and tougher background checks for those who buy guns:

ai???There are some problems, and maybe these huge magazines even for someone who says, ai???look, I just use an AR-15 for target practice,ai??i?? but do you really need to be standing there shooting at a silhouette a shot a second or even quicker with that kind of weapon? For what purpose?ai??? Gingrey asked. ai???I would be willing to listen to the possibility of the capacity of a magazine.ai??? […]Ai??ai???What it is basically, if you go to a gun show and thereai??i??s somebody out there in the parking lot, and theyai??i??re getting out of their car, and theyai??i??ve got an A-15 on their shoulder or ai??i??. John Q. Public wants to sell a handgun or whatever, then thereai??i??s no background check,ai??? Gingrey said. ai???You know, youai??i??re buying a used weapon from somebody and then basically no background check.ai??? […]Ai??With the sophistication of smartphone technology, there should be an application that allows someone selling a gun to run a background check with relative ease, he said.

Gingrey referenced the man responsible for the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, describing how he was judged by a psychiatrist to be a danger to himself and ordered to undergo outpatient treatment. Ai??ai???But because it wasnai??i??t in-patient, it was not required to put his name in a databank,ai??? Gingrey said. ai???Well, I think in the state of Georgia the …

The NRA has specialized in hiring up former Democratic staffers to block gun control.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) claims to represent gun owners, but it primarily represents the extreme views of gun companies that fund it. Thanks to their dollars, it has been able to stop both Republicans and Democrats in the past from even debating common sense gun control measures, like closing the gun show loophole.

In 2012, the NRA actually went outside of its ownAi??sizableAi??lobbying operation (it employed 15 registered lobbyists in-house) to hire up some outside lobbying groups to lobby on everything from Department of Justice tracking of guns to tax issues.

One way it has managed to be so influential is by hiring up former key staffers to top Senate Democrats. One of these it hired was Patrick Robertson, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Robertson works for the lobbying firm C2 group, where he works for a number of other clients including the fast food industry.

Despite his connection to Rockefeller, the Senator has oftenAi??stood up to the NRA, earning him an “D” rating from the group.

But the NRA also employed Jeff Forbes ofAi??Cauthen, Forbes & Williams, which recently became Forbes-Tate. Forbes is a former Chief of Staff to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT). who also worked for President Clinton and served as anAi??adviserAi??to the Obama campaign. Baucus has been a strong ally of the NRA, and received an “A” rating from the group. He even cut a video for a 2009 NRA national forum:

Following the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, fellow Montana Senator Jon Tester (D) suggested that laws relating to assault weapons should be looked at. But Baucus’s response was much more muted, saying instead that …

We now know that the AR-15, a combat weapon not designed for hunting or personal defense, was the weapon used in the tragic Sandy Hook killings.

What may be surprising to many is that the mega-retailer Wal-Mart has been selling this weapon to its general customer base. Shortly after the shooting, Wal-MartAi??quietly pulledAi??the AR-15 off of its site, leaving the actual purchase page with an error message but customer reviews still standing.

Here’s theAi??review page where customers give the rifle a 94 percent rating:

The Nation’s George Zornick has a lengthy articleAi??in The Nation that lays out how Wal-Mart helped proliferate the AR-15 and make it one of the most popular assault weapons in America. Tellingly, the chain declined to comment on the story.

Click here to sign our pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common-sense reforms are passed.

In a rally organized by CREDO Action, hundreds of Americans today converged outside the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the National Rifle Association, the top gun lobby in the country.

Here are a few pictures from the action, taken by attendees:

You can follow live updates on the protest by browsing the hashtag #StandDownNRA on Twitter. But you can also help make sure the momentum from today’s protest continues by pledging to take action for common sense reforms.

Click here to sign our pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common-sense reforms are passed.

In the wake of the horrible mass shooting at Sandy Hook, many Americans are rightly asking their elected officials to begin to debate serious legislation that could help prevent such tragedies in the future. Ranging from a variety of gun control reforms to mental health legislation, these various policy options are entirely reasonable to debate in the wake of a series of mass shootings this year.

But following each shooting this year, Congress failed to truly debate any serious reforms in this area. Why is this? Many point to the power of organizations like the National Rifle Association which typically oppose any reforms whatsoever to gun laws and which downplay gun massacres.

Let’s look at exactly how much power anti-gun control groups have on Capitol Hill. I looked at just one metric — how much money they spent lobbying.

Last year, the NRA spentAi??$2,205,000Ai??lobbying Congress. The pro-gun control Brady Campaign spentAi??$30,000. Michael Bloombergai??i??s pro-gun control Mayors Against Illegal Guns spentAi??$150,000Ai??and the anti-gun control Gun Owners of America spentAi??$1,307,996Ai??.

Altogether, pro-gun control groups spent $180,000 and were outspent 19-to-1 by anti-gun control groups, that spent $3,512,996.

We don’t think that groups with more money should have a bigger voice. That’s why we’re going to counter with people power.

Click here to sign our pledge to call Congress and the White House once a month until common-sense reforms are passed.