Gun control lobbyist facing violence complaints
Gun control activists seem to think laws don’t apply to them personally.
For example, prominent New Hampshire lobbyist Robert Blaisdell was scheduled to be in court July 1 in connection with his earlier arrest on what the New Hampshire Union Leader called “three misdemeanor domestic-related complaints” that had Northeast rights activists fired up because among Blaisdell’s clients is the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.
Everytown for Gun Safety was launched by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, who doesn’t mind guns being in possession of his own security team.
The Action Fund supports politicians and gun control campaigns across the United States. It has helped support political activities in Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Maine and elsewhere.
In addition to Everytown, Blaisdell’s firm has also represented law enforcement groups.
Blaisdell’s attorney, Richard Guerriero, reportedly insisted that his client is innocent.
As noted by AmmoLand.com, Blaisdell is not the first person associated with the gun control effort to find himself allegedly on the wrong side of the law.
In August 2018, AmmoLand reported the case of Kellie Collins, former candidate in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, who campaigned on a platform that included gun control. She had been arrested in connection with the shooting death of her former campaign treasurer.
Four years ago, former California State Sen. Leland Yee, a prominent gun control advocate, was sent to federal prison for racketeering. . During his political career, Yee had advocated for all manner of gun control legislation.
Obama misrepresented US gun laws: FactCheck.org
In remarks at a technology conference in Brazil, former President Barack Obama misrepresented US gun laws, claiming that “anybody can buy any weapon … without much, if any, regulation,” including “machine guns.”
FactCheck.org noted that machine guns have been tightly regulated since 1934 and banned since 1986, except for the sale or transfer of such a weapon that “was lawfully registered and possessed before May 19, 1986,” according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. And even then it can only be transferred from one registered owner to another registered owner.
Obama made his remarks May 30 at a technology conference hosted by VTEX, in a country that had just liberalized strict gun laws. During a question and answer period, the former president was asked about his “most difficult day” in office.
Obama, May 30: “Well, I’ve said this before. The most difficult day that I’ve had was the day that there was a shooting in a school, where 20 small children were shot, as well as some teachers, and you know, my daughters were only a little bit older than these young children that had been shot and I had to go and comfort the parents. And some of you may be aware our gun laws in the United States don’t make much sense. Anybody can buy any weapon, any time whether or not (applause) you know, without much, if any, regulation. They can buy it over the internet. They can buy machine guns.”
FactCheck asked Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the former president, what Obama meant when he said “anybody … can buy machine guns.”
Schultz said Obama used the term “machine gun,” which are fully automatic weapons, when he meant semi-automatic weapons that are currently legal to purchase in the United States, such as AR-15 rifles.
“He was using ‘machine gun’ as a phrase that everybody understands, especially in a foreign country…
FactCheck noted that Obama may not draw a distinction between a semi-automatic and a fully automatic weapon, but the law does. And he misrepresented that law in his remarks before a foreign audience
Grand jury charges judge with obstruction of justice
Even judges are not above the law.
In late April, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted a Newtown, MA, district court judge, and a former court officer, with obstruction of justice charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade a federal who appeared in her courtroom to detain him last year.
According to The Boston Globe, the judge, 51-year-old Shelley Richmond Joseph, faces 20 years in federal prison for charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of a federal proceeding for helping a Dominican national flee from the back entrance of the Newton courthouse a year earlier.
“This case is not about immigration,” US District Attorney Andrew Lelling said. It is about the rule of law. “This case is not intended as a policy statement, at least not beyond making the point that the laws have to apply equally even if you’re a state court judge.”
Fox News analyst notes Gillibrand’s “flexibility”
Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume called Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand one of the “the most flexible politicians” he’s ever seen after the NRA released a friendly 2008 letter from the Democratic presidential hopeful.
During a recent Fox News town hall, the New York senator argued that Americans are “ripped apart again and again” by senseless gun violence, and slammed the NRA for caring “more about profits than the American people.”
In response, the NRA published a letter Gillibrand wrote to the organization’s then-Executive Director, Chris Cox, more than a decade ago. In it, she discussed a meeting between the two and concluded the letter with a friendly, supportive statement.
“I appreciate the work that the NRA does to protect gun owners’ rights and I look forward to working with you for many years in Congress,” she wrote.
At the time, Gillibrand represented New York’s 20th congressional district. In 2009, after Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State, Gillibrand was selected to fill her open Senate seat by then-New York Governor David Paterson. Since that time, her political views have shifted more to the left, Hume pointed out.
Interior Dept. opens 1.4 million acres to hunting, fishing
The Interior Department in June announced a plan to expand hunting and fishing opportunities in several federal wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries.
The plan would increase hunting and fishing access across 1.4 million acres of public land in 74 national wildlife refuges and 15 national fish hatcheries.
“President Trump is committed to expanding public access on public lands, and this proposal is executing on that directive by opening and increasing more access to hunting and fishing by the Fish and Wildlife Service at more stations and across more acres than ever before,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a press release.
“Hunting and fishing are more than just traditional pastimes as they are also vital to the conservation of our lands and waters, our outdoor recreation economy, and our American way of life,” Bernhardt said.
NICS checks post record in May 2019
As reported in June by Ammoland.com, the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS) posted record numbers in May 2019. It bested the next closest May, done last year, by 347 thousand checks, or about 17 percent.
Last May, the total number of background checks was 2,002,992. This year, in May of 2019, they were 2,349,309.
Not all NICS Checks are done on the sale of firearms, AmmoLand noted. A growing number of checks are done on carry permits and carry permit rechecks.
In May of 2018, the carry permit checks were 876,501, and the permit rechecks were 202,011. In this May 2019, the permit checks were 817,967, and the permit rechecks were 494,527. The total of permit and permit rechecks were 1,312,494. The total for May of 2018 was 1,078,512.
This leaves the background checks not related to permits or permit rechecks about 114 thousand more than last year. 2018 non-permit or permit rechecks were 924,480. In May of 2019, they were 1,036,815, an increase of 12 percent.
Several other factors complicate attempts to correlate background checks with increases in the private firearms stock.
Williams Jr. seeks granddad’s shotgun
Country music star Hank Williams Jr. is reportedly offering a $6,000 reward for his grandfather’s missing 16-gauge Remington 11-28 shotgun.
The singer has posted a letter online saying he spent time growing up in Cullman area of south Alabama with his granddad.
An attorney for the singer says the gun is believed lost, not stolen and the reward is offered with no questions asked.
The serial number of the missing gun ends in 58111. Finders should contact attorney Steven C. Smith by email at steve@smithandsmithllp.com.
Williams was nominated for the Outstanding American Handgunner Award back in the 1980s.
SAF, ISRA win Deerfield case as court dismisses city’s appeal
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has posted yet another victory in Illinois, as the Second District Appellate Court has dismissed an attempt by the Village of Deerfield to challenge a permanent injunction against the community’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.”
SAF was joined in the case by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA)—it’s partner in the landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago—on behalf of Deerfield resident Daniel Easterday. Deerfield’s appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, the court ruled.
The plaintiffs were represented by Glen Ellyn attorney David Sigale.
“This effectively shuts down any further effort by the Deerfield administration to encumber law-abiding citizens in the community who own the kinds of legal firearms city officials want to ban,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We were delighted to once again be working with our good friends at the Illinois State Rifle Association. Together with David Sigale, we make a pretty good team.
“But this was always about much more than teamwork,” he continued. “We’re talking about the right of honest citizens to live without fear of suddenly being turned into criminals by an overzealous government that arbitrarily decides to prohibit possession of a perfectly legal firearm, purchased in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, because of political correctness.”
“Many thanks to Alan M Gottlieb, the Second Amendment Foundation, Illinois State Rifle Association, David Sigale, and all of the people that have supported me,” Easterday said in reaction to the court ruling.
The case had been consolidated with a separate challenge to the Deerfield ban.
“Constitutionally-protected rights cannot be subjected to the extremism of social justice crusades,” Gottlieb said. “It should take more than the mere stroke of a pen to criminalize something so much a part of the American fabric as the legal ownership and possession of firearms that are in common use.
“This is just one more chapter in SAF’s effort to win back firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time,” he concluded.
Vermont governor vetoes waiting period legislation
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott reinforced the state’s gun rights reputation by using his veto pen on legislation that would have created a 24-hour waiting period to purchase a handgun.
The Republican governor vetoed the legislation despite pressure from gun control lobbying groups to sign, on the grounds that they believe it would help reduce suicides and maybe homicides.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a study released by Harvard Business School in 2017 said waiting periods “were associated with a 17% decrease in gun homicides and a 7% to 11% decrease in gun suicides per year.”
However, waiting periods have not prevented some high-profile shootings in recent memory. The killer in Virginia Beach bought the handguns he used in 2016 and 2018, so a waiting period would have been moot. Isla Vista killer Elliot Rodger bought three handguns, passing three different California background checks and waiting periods. He killed six people in a rampage, three with firearms and three by stabbing them fatally.
Gov. Scott’s action came about a year after Vermont, which has always been considered the top gun rights state, actually adopted some restrictions on gun owners, according to ABC News. The gun-owning governor told reporters that he believes the Green Mountain State’s gun laws are sufficient.
Gun control proponents who wanted a waiting period were “disappointed,” ABC News reported. The story quoted one couple who lost a sun to suicide, using a gun he purchased earlier on the same day.
“While we know this bill would not save everyone, by disrupting access to the most lethal method, it would have saved some,” wrote Rob and Alyssa Black in an email. “This bill would have saved our son; it could have saved yours.”
Vermont has long been known for its lack of a permit or license requirement in order to carry a firearm for personal protection or any other legitimate reason. For years, gun rights activists insisted that “Vermont-style carry” is the ideal, and the so-called “constitutional carry” movement has grown from that.
Rights activists opposed the legislation, arguing that it represented an encroachment on an enumerated Constitutional right. They said the law wouldn’t accomplish anything.
Hickenlooper vows gun control push if elected president
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently joined the left-veering race for the Democrat Party’s nomination in 2020 for the presidency, and like every one of the other two dozen candidates, he has a gun control proposal as part of his campaign platform.
According to the Denver Post, Hickenlooper talked gun control during an appearance at an event in Newtown, Connecticut, not far from the scene of the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. The newspaper noted that Hickenlooper suggested “the next president will win in part because of his or her support for a major overhaul to how the U.S. regulates firearms.”
But rights activists quickly pointed out that the former Centennial State governor apparently can’t tell the difference between a fundamental right and a regulated privilege.
Hickenlooper wants so-called “universal background checks” and possibly will attempt to ban so-called assault weapons.
The Denver Post noted that all Democrats now in the race “are making gun control major platform planks.”
“Even Democratic candidates who have historically been softer on guns — U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Kristen Gillibrand — are clamoring to take on the gun lobby,” the newspaper said.
The question is whether Sen. Kamala Harris of California or Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has the most extreme of gun control proposals.
TN governor signs carry option bill
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently signed important self-defense legislation, House Bill 1264 /Senate Bill 705, into law.
HB 1264 /SB 705, sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt and Sen. John Stevens, would create a new concealed carry permit option in Tennessee that would make it more accessible for Tennesseans to exercise their right to self-defense. The new permit will allow for concealed carry only and will not apply to higher education campuses.
The training requirement is simplified in the bill and can be a hunter education course or firearm safety course, and can be taken online.
The existing handgun carry permit will remain available with the eligibility requirements unchanged and still with the ability to carry on higher education campuses.
VCDL media effort targets ‘Red Flags’
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) has currently committed over $40,000 on a multi-media ad campaign aimed at educating gun owners and the general public on the dangers to our constitutional protections presented by “Red Flag” laws which are really gun confiscation laws and have little to do with “violence prevention,” AmmoLand.com reported
The public information program includes a multi-month radio advertising campaign in at least three Virginia cities, internet communications and a mailing to current and recent VCDL members, that includes an informative newsletter and four full-color Red Flag/Universal Background Check flyers to be given out to friends, family, co-workers, and posted on bulletin boards.
For information or donations, visit: vcdl.org/RedFlag.
Another NYPD cop sentenced in gun- licensing scandal
More prison sentences have been handed out in the continuing New York City Police Department (NYPD) pistol licensing corruption scandal.
Robert Espinel, a former NYPD officer from Seaford, Long Island, was recently sentenced in federal court to a year and a day in prison for his role in the corruption within the department’s gun-licensing division, according to New York City area newspaper reports.
Espinel, 49, was charged in 2017 with taking bribes to expedite gun licenses, and then retiring and working to develop a business by paying other members of the licensing division to expedite permits for private clients. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay bribes.
“I’m sorry I harmed the reputation of the NYPD,” Espinel reportedly told US District Judge Edgardo Ramos. “I feel ashamed. I hate that I have damaged the trust of the community I served for over 20 years. I’m afraid I may never restore my family’s pride in me, nor my pride in myself.”
The New York Post reported that Espinel was part of a group of cops who worked in the department’s gun licensing division who were on the take from so-called “gun expeditors” who were able to get the officers to dole out licenses fast — and sometimes getting the guns into the wrong hands.
Also convicted as part of the bribery scheme was John Chambers, a self-proclaimed gun attorney to the stars who bribed David Villanueva, the former supervisor of the licensing division, with lavish gifts that included an $8,500 watch, tickets to Broadway shows and dinners.
Villanueva copped a plea deal with prosecutors and testified at Chambers’ trial, which was held last year.
As previously reported in TheGunMag, the recent pistol licensing corruption trials first became headlines dating back to 1970 testimony of Police Officer Frank Serpico, which was later the basis of a movie starring Al Pacino. The scandal-ridden NYPD Pistol Licensing Division was later the target of other corruption cases in 1973, 1975, 1996, 1997 and 2002.
Is it so surprising that the rich and famous get licenses issued but the average Joe or Jane do not?
