The Michael Bloomberg-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced it has sent a six-question survey to both John McCain and Barack Obama that focuses on the foolish and misguided steps the group says should be made to the existing NICS background check system.
The coalition sent a similar survey to the major-party candidates during the primaries, but didn’t get a response. Now that the field has tightened to two, the “mayors” hope they’ll have better luck.
The survey questions could have been written by Brady anti-gun staffers. If a candidate answers in the affirmative on any question, each plank would further restrict gun liberties.
The survey questions are:
1) As president, will you commit to push for the passage of legislation in Congress to require background checks on all gun sales at gun shows in 2009?
Why it’s bad: Such a measure would practically shut down gun-show sales by private sellers to private buyers, since only licensed dealers can use the NICS system.
2) As president, would you support passage of S.1237/H.R.2074 or other similar legislation to close this Terror Gap in federal laws?
Called “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2007”–the Gonzales/Lautenberg bill, S. 1237 drafted by the Justice Department–is the broadest power grab ever proposed over the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Why it’s bad: New Jersey U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s bill would give the government unprecedented discretionary power to secretly decree that a citizen is banned from owning firearms. The government would need nothing more than a “suspicion” using information it would not have to divulge, ever.
3) As president, would you support passage of H.R.6676 or other similar legislation that would require that people behind the counter at gun stores pass the same background check as their customers?
Why it’s bad: Any FFL who values his license already does background checks—so this bill is superfluous.
4) As President, would you support passage of H.R.6664 or other similar legislation to put an end to the practice of allowing gun dealers whose licenses have been revoked for selling guns illegally to continue selling guns in their inventory without doing background checks?
Why it’s bad: We have searched for a case that supports the need for this law, and can’t find one.
5) As president, would you eliminate the Tiahrt Amendment crime gun trace data restrictions in your budgets for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)?
Why it’s bad: The language and history of the Gun Control Act are clear: Congress always intended to keep this information confidential, and to allow its use only for legitimate law enforcement purposes. As passed, the president can’t just eliminate the restrictions.
6) Will your first proposed budget include full funding of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007?
Why it’s bad: The Hon. Ron Paul of Texas, said it clearly: Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2640, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act, and I urge caution.
The Michael Bloomberg-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced it has sent a six-question survey to both John McCain and Barack Obama that focuses on the foolish and misguided steps the group says should be made to the existing NICS background check system.
The coalition sent a similar survey to the major-party candidates during the primaries, but didn’t get a response. Now that the field has tightened to two, the “mayors” hope they’ll have better luck.
The survey questions could have been written by Brady anti-gun staffers. If a candidate answers in the affirmative on any question, each plank would further restrict gun liberties.
The survey questions are:
1) As president, will you commit to push for the passage of legislation in Congress to require background checks on all gun sales at gun shows in 2009?
Why it’s bad: Such a measure would practically shut down gun-show sales by private sellers to private buyers, since only licensed dealers can use the NICS system.
2) As president, would you support passage of S.1237/H.R.2074 or other similar legislation to close this Terror Gap in federal laws?
Called “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2007”–the Gonzales/Lautenberg bill, S. 1237 drafted by the Justice Department–is the broadest power grab ever proposed over the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Why it’s bad: New Jersey U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s bill would give the government unprecedented discretionary power to secretly decree that a citizen is banned from owning firearms. The government would need nothing more than a “suspicion” using information it would not have to divulge, ever.
3) As president, would you support passage of H.R.6676 or other similar legislation that would require that people behind the counter at gun stores pass the same background check as their customers?
Why it’s bad: Any FFL who values his license already does background checks—so this bill is superfluous.
4) As President, would you support passage of H.R.6664 or other similar legislation to put an end to the practice of allowing gun dealers whose licenses have been revoked for selling guns illegally to continue selling guns in their inventory without doing background checks?
Why it’s bad: We have searched for a case that supports the need for this law, and can’t find one.
5) As president, would you eliminate the Tiahrt Amendment crime gun trace data restrictions in your budgets for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)?
Why it’s bad: The language and history of the Gun Control Act are clear: Congress always intended to keep this information confidential, and to allow its use only for legitimate law enforcement purposes. As passed, the president can’t just eliminate the restrictions.
6) Will your first proposed budget include full funding of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007?
Why it’s bad: The Hon. Ron Paul of Texas, said it clearly: Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2640, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act, and I urge caution.
H.R. 2640 illustrates how placing restrictions on the exercise of one right–in this case, the right to bear arms–inevitably leads to expanded restriction on other rights as well. In an effort to make the Brady background check on gun purchases more efficient, H.R. 2640 pressures states and mandates federal agencies to dump massive amounts of information about the private lives of all Americans into a central federal government database.
Among the information that must be submitted to the database are medical, psychological, and drug treatment records that have traditionally been considered protected from disclosure under the physician-patient relationship, as well as records related to misdemeanor domestic violence. While supporters of H.R. 2640 say that there are restrictions on the use of this personal information, such restrictions did not stop the well-publicized IRS and FBI files privacy abuses by both Democratic and Republican administrations. …”
