ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, CLOSE THE GUN BACKGROUND CHECK LOOPHOLES 25JAN11

GUN control loopholes need to be closed, but unfortunately the nra will stop any consideration of addressing this problem because politicians of both parties are cowards. So I really do believe the 'playing field' should be leveled and all restrictions on guns in government offices should be eliminated so all politicians face the same risk of random gun violence as the rest of us. Fat chance of that ever happening though, just like the gun control loopholes will not be closed. So the American people and their elected leaders will continue to show hypocritical outrage and concerning the next time something like the Tucson shootings happens.....Click the header of the link to contact your Representative and Senators on this issue.

For all our communities, Congress needs to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Tell your representatives in Congress to fix the gun loopholes.

Earlier this month we witnessed a tragic shooting in Tucson, AZ, leaving 6 dead, and 20 others — including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords — injured. While rhetoric from the far-fight that feeds distrust and hatred towards our politicians (especially among the mentally ill) needs to be called out and countered, another factor jumps out. Someone like Jared Lee Loughner should never have been able to buy a gun.

We already have laws that make it illegal for criminals and the mentally ill to purchase guns. But a broken background check system and wide enforcement loopholes -- kept in place by the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association (NRA) -- have made it difficult to keep guns out of the wrong hands. It's time to close these gaps once and for all. You can help.

Please join us, along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and others, in making it clear to politicians that everyday Americans support common sense reform and will stand with them if they lead in keeping guns from the most dangerous among us; and please ask your friends and family to join as well. It takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/guns/

Two commonsense reforms could prevent future tragedies. First, we should ensure that all the names of people who should be prohibited from buying a gun are entered into the background check system. Then we must close the loopholes that allow people to purchase guns with no background check at all. It sounds easy — but the powerful gun lobby, led by the NRA, has stood in opposition.

The attempted assassination of a member of Congress has frightening implications for our political culture that we should take very seriously. But we should also take this moment to remember that dozens of ordinary people are murdered with guns every day.

It’s a problem that everyone should care about solving — but it disproportionately affects Black, poor, and other disadvantaged communities. Black men are 9 times more likely than white men to be murdered with guns. In too many Black communities across the country, gun violence is a constant danger.

The danger is fueled by the easy availability of guns for those who are legally prohibited from possessing them. And it is so easy for dangerous people to puchase guns because of deep flaws in the systems meant to prevent this from ever occurring. One problem is that those who should be prohibited from buying guns, such as felons and the mentally ill, don’t always make it into the federal background check database. That means gun stores who are trying to follow the law may inadvertently sell guns to dangerous people.

But perhaps more troubling, there are huge loopholes in the law that allow people to bypass background checks altogether. For instance, in the well-known “gun show loophole,” anyone can purchase deadly automatic weapons — weapons designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible — from a gun show with no background check whatsoever.

If any lesson is to be taken from the tragic events in Tucson, it is that these gaps can have deadly consequences. Now, with growing public support for change, there is a unique opportunity to strengthen America’s gun laws to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands.

Please stand with us and our partners at Mayors Against Illegal Guns in asking Congress to do just that. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/guns/

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team

OFFICER DOWN

A sobering reminder of the sacrifice made by those who choose to protect us, and for whom we should give thanks...Check out the link

Just before he was murdered, police officer Timothy Brenton was doing what he did best: teaching a rookie how to serve and protect the Seattle community.

The two officers were sitting in their patrol car and discussing a routine traffic stop when, according to the police, Christopher Monfort pulled alongside and opened fire.  Rookie officer Britt Sweeney was wounded, and Timothy Brenton died instantly.

Monfort bought the rifle that killed Officer Brenton from an illegal gun trafficker who repeatedly sold guns to violent criminals at gun shows – no background check, no questions asked.¹ 

All across the country, states with lax gun laws are seeing their police officers pay the price.  It’s time to protect the men and women who put their lives on the line for us.
Visit TraceTheGuns.org to find out how tough your state is on illegal guns and spread the word about the urgent need to close these deadly loopholes.

As part of their groundbreaking investigation The Hidden Life of Guns, the Washington Post has tried to track down the firearms used in the 511 fatal shootings of U.S. law enforcement officials since January of 2000.²

Only two-thirds of the guns could be traced, and the findings on them were bleak.

More than 200 of the shooters owned their guns illegally. In fact, 45 were on probation or parole and at least four had been previously convicted of murder or manslaughter.  And 16 times, the killer used a “straw purchaser” to get their gun for them -- yet fewer than half of these straw buyers have ever faced prosecution.

The facts are clear: too many police officers die each year because state laws aren’t tough enough to keep criminals from getting guns.  These brave men and women deserve better.

See if your state has laws in place to protect your community from illegal guns:
www.TraceTheGuns.org

There’s no excuse for more police officers to lose their lives to illegal guns.  Let’s make sure our state lawmakers get serious about gun crime.

Thanks for keeping our communities safe,

Mayors Against Illegal Guns


¹ Feds arrest gun dealer..., Seattle Times, November 19, 2010. Article available here.
² Guns used to kill police officers, The Washington Post, November 21, 2010.  Article available here.

NRA MEMBERS ON THE TERROR GAP 18MAI10 & NRA Looks To Build On Tea Party Movement 17MAI10

Did you know that a gap in federal law leaves the FBI powerless to stop terror suspects from buying guns and explosives? 

Even NRA members overwhelmingly support new laws to close the Terror Gap.
A divide is growing between NRA members and their leadership.

At the NRA's Annual Meeting this weekend -- headlined by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck -- NRA members shared their candid opinions on the Terror Gap. Bloggers from the Center for American Progress attended the meeting and recorded a short video.



This video, by the Center for American Progress, reinforces a national poll conducted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz last December. Luntz's poll revealed an overwhelming 82% of NRA members want Congress to close the Terror Gap.

Yet the NRA's leadership and lobbyists continue to oppose any legislation that would change the law and protect our families and communities.

We can't let them get away with it.

See what NRA members have to say and ask your friends and family to join you in closing the Terror Gap:

www.TerrorGap.org/video_nra.php

Thank you for supporting common sense gun laws,
Mayors Against Illegal Guns 

 

NRA Looks To Build On Tea Party Movement

by Don Gonyea

May 17, 2010

Listen to the Story

The National Rifle Association held its annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend with a pledge to be more aggressive and more organized heading into this year's midterm elections.
The main theme was protecting Americans' right to own firearms, but the tone of many of the speeches would have been familiar to anyone listening in on Tea Party rallies held across the country over the past year.
The NRA annual meeting is a lot of things — but first it's big. Organizers put attendance at around 70,000, with the big attraction being the massive display of firearms on the convention floor.
Driving into town, billboards boast acres of guns and gear. It's a promise kept.
The annual meeting also is a big-time political rally, designed to fire up the faithful and send them home to volunteer for NRA endorsed candidates — and to defeat those the NRA sees as the enemy.
That was the message from Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and TV tough guy Chuck Norris. He spoke during an arena-sized rally, saying, "We're going to the polls on Election Day together and take our government back."
Remember the MTV campaign to get young people to the polls called "Rock the Vote"? Norris is the honorary chairman of a new NRA ad campaign called "Trigger the Vote."
"I hope you won't be missing in action on Election Day," he says in the ad. "Register to vote. I'm Chuck Norris and I approve this message. For more information go to Triggerthevote.org."
This year's convention also demonstrated the NRA's interest in new technology. It includes all the usual methods: Facebook, Twitter, texting and so on.
The challenge is to get the organization's huge membership to begin using such tools. The official NRA page on Facebook has more than 164,000 fans. That's a large number but just a fraction of its nearly 4 million members.
Another trend emerged over the weekend — a sense that the NRA, which has long been fighting political and legislative battles, has found a new ally this year in the Tea Party movement.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre spoke to a group of about 100 who attended a side meeting on the 2010 elections.
"I'm out there every week listening to people, and I've never seen people as disgusted and upset as they are right now, wherever you go in this country," LaPierre said.
To be sure, the highly centralized NRA and the various, sometimes disjointed, Tea Party organizations are different structurally.
The NRA views every issue through the prism of the Second Amendment, while Tea Party groups offer a broader variety of complaints about big government. But there is a lot of overlap as well.
"I was at a Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C., on Tax Day," said Bob Culver, 64, of Laurel, Md., who attended the NRA weekend meeting. "There were a lot of people that I recognized from the gun rights side of the issue, and there were a lot of people I didn't know. So there is a cross-pollenization, if you want to put it that way."
Don't look for active collaboration among the different groups. Sharing at least some goals with the Tea Party movement seems to be enough for NRA leaders right now.
They are happy to encourage any group that is anti-incumbent, and whose anti-government anger and energy can provide a boost to the NRA's cause as well.

Tell Congress to Stop Letting Terror Suspects Buy Guns (THE NRA IS AGAINST THIS PETITION)

Yep, the tea-bagging, neo-nazi fascist pigs of the nra are against a proposal that will help stop terrorist from buying guns in the U.S. because that would be a threat to their 2nd amendment rights.....so the next time a terrorist shoots up a business or military base, or school or church or government office be sure to thank the NRA.Click the header to participate in this action if the link doesn't load.

Buy Guns

Targeting: The U.S. Senate and The U.S. House

Sponsored by: Mayors Against Illegal Guns Action Fund

On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan shot 43 people at Fort Hood - killing 13. Hasan was able to buy a handgun despite having been under investigation by the FBI for links to terrorism.
It's amazing but true: we can prevent terror suspects from boarding an airplane, but the FBI doesn't have the power to block them from buying dynamite or an AK-47.
It's past time for action. Join more than 500 mayors in Mayors Against Illegal Guns and support legislation to close the Terror Gap.
Tell Congress to fix the federal background check system and keep our country safe.

Petition Text

Stop Terror Suspects from Buying Guns and Explosives

Dear Member of Congress,

We can prevent terror suspects from boarding an airplane, but the FBI doesn't have the power to block them from buying dynamite or an AK-47. This gap has resulted in numerous shootings – including those at Ford Hood last November when Major Nidal Hasan shot 43 people with a gun he bought while being under investigation for links to terrorism.

We demand that Congress take action and close the Terror Gap today!

[Your name]

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