Mayors’ Summit on Illegal Arms Draws Fire From Gun Rights Group
Date: Jan 24, 2007 12:41 PM
Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss has joined this gun control group and is promoting their agenda.
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Mayors’ Summit on Illegal Arms Draws Fire From Gun Rights Group
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
January 24, 2007

(CNSNews.com) – More than 50 mayors gathered in Washington,
D.C., on Tuesday for a national summit “to discuss the issue
of illegal guns plaguing American cities.” However, a gun
rights group dismissed the conference as “all rhetoric” and
presenting “no real solutions” to violent crime in America.

During its day-long event, the Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Coalition (MAIG) “discussed the importance of gun trace
data, joint lobbying against harmful federal legislation,
cutting-edge political strategies and the unique initiatives
being undertaken by mayors across the country on this
issue,” the group said in a news release.

The mayors also announced the creation of “a bi-partisan
Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns,” which is to be
led by Reps. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), John Conyers, Jr.
(D-Mich.), Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).

The purpose of the task force will be “to enact common-sense
measures to stem the flow of illegal guns and provide law
enforcement with the necessary tools to combat illegal
guns,” and its top priority will be to oppose an amendment
that restricts cities’ access to and use of gun trace data
– information that traces weapons back to their point of
sale.

“Illegal gun violence is an epidemic sweeping across this
country, causing senseless tragedy every day,” said Boston
Mayor Thomas Menino.

“As mayors, it is our job to solve problems because city
government affords citizens their first line of defense –
but we can’t do it alone,” Menino stated. “Mayors need
partners, and that is why we are here today — to work with
Congress in a bipartisan way to address the issue of illegal
guns.”

During the summit, the mayors from Atlanta, Milwaukee and
Chicago presented “best practices” from their cities,
detailing innovative initiatives developed in their cities
to combat the flow of illegal guns and curb gun violence.

“Last year, Chicago’s crime rate went down 3 percent, while
the national rate increased 3 percent,” said Mayor Richard
M. Daley. “One of the reasons for our success is that our
police continue to lead the nation in removing illegal guns
from the streets.

“Every time we seize an illegal gun, we reduce the
probability that someone will be killed, injured or robbed
at gunpoint,” Daley added.

“As mayors, we are on the front lines,” said Milwaukee Mayor
Tom Barrett, who works directly with local gun dealers to
change their sales practices.

“We have to look in the eyes of the mothers who lose their
young sons in a heated argument with some thug who thinks
nothing of carrying and using a handgun to solve a problem,”
Barrett noted. “We can do many things, but until we stop
the flow of illegal guns in our cities, we will not be able
to successfully address the violence.”

The mayors also heard a presentation from Ray Schoenke,
president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association
(AHSA), who stated that his group “believes hunters and
shooters can join together with federal, state and local
policy makers to address the problem of urban gun crime
without compromising away our rights.”

“By taking an honest, straightforward approach, we can and
will work with our nation’s mayors to find solutions that
will keep guns out of the wrong hands and punish
lawbreakers, while at the same time standing firm in defense
of the Second Amendment,” Schoenke added.

‘Stop trying to fool the American public’

“Our coalition has refused to fall into the same old trap
that this is an either/or issue — either respect the rights
of gun owners or keep illegal guns out of the hands of
criminals,” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“The fact is, respecting the rights of gun owners while
cracking down on illegal guns are completely compatible
goals — and we are committed to both,” the Republican mayor
added. “The fight against illegal guns reaches beyond the
borders of any single city or state.”

However, Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee
for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), was not
impressed with the conference, which he said was “all
rhetoric and no real solutions to violent crime in America.”

“Whether you’re talking about a desire of anti-gun mayors to
get their hands on confidential generic gun-tracing data to
fuel harassment lawsuits of gun manufacturers and dealers,
or a so-called ‘sportsmen’s group’ claiming to represent
hunters and shooters and their opinions about the gun
issue,” Gottlieb noted, “you still have a gathering from
which the nation’s leading gun rights organizations and
authorities were excluded.”

“Just how irrelevant can it get when three mayors selected
to speak about ‘best practices’ in dealing with crime are
Chicago’s Richard Daley, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa and Milwaukee’s Tom Barrett?” Gottlieb asked.

“These three gentlemen are adamantly opposed to the concept
of armed citizens defending themselves and their loved ones
against violent criminals, and they reign over three of the
most dangerous cities in the country,” he said.

“We’ll tell you what American hunters and shooters really
think about so-called illegal guns,” Gottlieb stated.
“Punish the people who are breaking the law and stop blaming
us for crimes we didn’t commit.

“Don’t saddle us with ridiculous laws and regulations that
are written more to create violations than they are to
prevent criminal activity,” he added. “Let us decide what
kind of firearms we want to buy, and how many of them we
want to own.

“Most importantly of all,” Gottlieb noted, “stop trying to
fool the American public into thinking you are doing
something about crime when all you are really doing is
attacking law-abiding citizens and trying to erode our civil
rights.”

“If these mayors honestly want to do something for America,
they should go home, arrest violent criminals and leave
law-abiding gun owners alone,” he added.

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !