Alan Gottlieb
By Dave Workman
Senior editor
Alarmed by a reluctance to fully disclose its membership and sources of financing, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has challenged the newly-created American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention (ASLGVP) to “immediately publish a roster of their members, and disclose their funding sources.”
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb noted in a press release that, “When an organization consists of elected public officials, there must be complete transparency. The public deserves to know who belongs to this organization, and who is providing financial support.”
But the group declined to provide the identities of its legislator-members, apparently fearing “political backlash,” according to published reports.
“If these state lawmakers are worried about political backlash back home,” Gottlieb said in reaction, “they must have good reason for that.”
ASLGVP was launched in Washington, D.C. by eight members, all of one being Democrats. The founder is by New York Democrat Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh.
The group gathered for its first meeting one day after the media launch, but still their website amounts to a single main page with no membership listing. In Gottlieb’s opinion, that’s not very transparent.
“Gun owners in all 50 states deserve to know, before legislative sessions begin next month, which lawmakers in their states will be pushing this new group’s agenda,” he said. “And they also deserve to know who is paying for it.”
According to published reports, there are supposed to be at least 200 members of this group, all state legislators, plus representatives from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
It appears the new organization may be top-heavy with Democrats, though there are some Republicans on board. That list includes “moderate” Kansas Republican Rep. Barbara Bollier, who announced that she will introduce legislation “expanding background checks for gun sales because she believes gunshot wounds are a public health issue,” according to the Kansas Health Institute.
Lawmakers from eight states, including Kavanagh, were present for the media event. Those states included Alabama, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Texas and Virginia. Bollier was the single Republican present at the briefing. Still, Democrat Missouri State Rep. Stacey Newman insisted, “We are a diverse group from red and blue states.”
