Boehner and the gun lobby

NY GOP Congressman joins Lautenberg in fight for gun control
In the wake of Saturday's senseless shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8) and several others, which claimed the lives of six innocent individuals; conversation has heightened in various areas. Political vitriol has certainly be at the forefront with liberals and Conservatives slinging mud at each other in nothing more than finger pointing. Elected officials have weighed in and most have tried to watch what they say in order to pay proper respect during this time of mourning. Both ...

Arizona Shootings Unlikely to Change Gun Culture
Now is the time for mourning the Victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, but it’s not the time for new gun-control laws aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future. That’s the political consensus in the wake of the attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords at a “Congress on Your Corner” event at a Safeway Supermarket. A deranged gunman killed six of Giffords’ constituents, including a Federal Judge and a 9-year-old girl, with a Glock 19 ...

Democrat describes uphill battle for gun bill
I just spoke with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., about where things stand on the Hill on her proposed ban on high-capacity magazines. The takeaway: It's going to be a tough battle to get any sort of new gun Legislation through Congress. "The NRA is out there already saying it's a slippery slope -- that if we take away the large magazines we're actually going to try and take away their guns, forgetting to mention that the Supreme Court has already said that everyone has a right to own a...

MSNBC Ed Schultz Has (Live TV) Proctology Moment
MSNBC’s Ed Schultz desperately needs a proctologist because he just inserted his own head up his own rear - and on national television, no less. It must hurt even worse considering Schultz began his broadcast by having so much fun using the Tucson tragedy to bash Conservatives.  First off, he began by smearing the armed services.  The cause of the horror at Tucson was because of “the crisis of under treated Mental Illness among our Veterans and other mentally ill Amer...

The Problem With the Militarization of Rhetoric
Washington—The slaughter in Tucson hasn’t shaken us out of bad political habits. Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. Even responsible Conservatives have dismissed any suggestion that Saturday’s attack is reason enough to condemn the threats of violence that have become standard to the discourse at the extremes of their side of politics. More importantly: We have not focused a...

How Violent Talk Blocks Sane Gun Laws
WASHINGTON — The slaughter in Tucson hasn’t shaken us out of bad political habits. Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. Even responsible Conservatives have dismissed any suggestion that Saturday’s attack is reason enough to condemn the threats of violence that have become standard to the discourse at the extremes of their side of politics. More importantly: We have not focus...

How Violent Talk Blocks Sane Gun Laws
The slaughter in Tucson hasn’t shaken us out of bad political habits. Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. Even responsible Conservatives have dismissed any suggestion that Saturday’s attack is reason enough to condemn the threats of violence that have become standard to the discourse at the extremes of their side of politics. More importantly: We have not focused at all on how the...

Karl Frisch: Arizona Aftermath: Real Second Amendment Remedies
Growing up, my father -- now retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after 35 years of service -- frequently took me shooting and to just about every gun show within a 100-mile radius of our Southern California home. In fact, as I write this, several of the guns from his collection are on display at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. I may be a progressive but I have absolutely no problem with private Gun Ownership. If we are to learn anything from the horrible...

Jim and Sarah Brady sound optimistic on Giffords
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (CNN) - Nearly 30 years after he was shot in the head during the attempted Assassination of President Ronald Reagan, former White House Press Secretary Jim Brady knows what U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is going through. "Been there. Know that," Jim Brady said. "Sounds like she's got a great Support Group that's right there with her and that means a lot," he said. Brady and his wife, Sarah, are keeping a close eye on Giffords' progress, noting the congresswoman's remarkab...

Changing gun laws would test advocates, NRA
As a leading Gun Control advocate in Congress prepares a bill in response to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, we look at the political clout of the National Rifle Association. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a New York Democrat whose husband was killed in the 1993 Long Island railroad shooting, is getting ready to file Legislation seeking to ban the type of high-capacity weapon clip used by alleged Arizona shooter Jared Loughner. McCarthy told the Huffington Post today that she is realistic about...

Boehner rejects new gun regulation
Image by Getty Images via @daylife The Hill: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-control Legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to the weekend shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona. Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) announced plans Tuesday to introduce Legislation prohibiting people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members of Congress. ...How are you going to enforce a moving 1,000 feet exclusion zone again...

Rep. Charles Rangel: STANDING UP TO GUN VIOLENCE
The tragic massacre in Tucson, Arizona last week is a grim reminder of what can happen when political Rhetoric spirals out of control. Constant vitriol creates a climate that can turn volatile by the ease in which people have access to dangerous guns.  My constituents have a special understanding of this tragedy because of the amount of gun violence that has been in my district. In fact, far too many people across our great nation have attended funerals of family members, friends and other l...

After the Arizona shooting: coming together for gun control (The Christian Science Monitor)
As President Obama and other leaders try to pull the nation together in the aftermath of the Arizona shooting, Americans can also try to draw closer on a highly divisive issue related to the rampage: lack of Gun Controls in the United States. Debate on this topic has long been polarized. And after every recent massacre by someone who should not have had a gun, little changes in the nation’s Gun Laws. The gun lobby paints those who support reasonable gun restrictions as simply “antigun,”

GOP leaders quash Republicans effort to ban guns within 1,000 feet of lawmakers
Stumble This! The top two Republicans in the House of Representatives rejected Gun Control Legislation soon after it was announced by a senior GOP congressman, effectively dooming its hopes for consideration. The bill, unveiled by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on Tuesday, would have banned people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of elected officials in Congress. It had the support of New York City mayor and outspoken gun-control advocate Michael Bloomberg. His announcement came days after the trag...

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED REPUBLICAN, WED SEE PEOPLE BUYING GUNS RIGHT AND LEFT. And they were right
THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED REPUBLICAN, WE’D SEE PEOPLE BUYING GUNS RIGHT AND LEFT. And they were right! “Liberal TN congressman to get carry permit: After Saturday’s shootings in Tucson, Ariz., U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said that he plans to apply for a permit to carry a Handgun.” Related: Left Gives Up On Gun Issue, Moves On To Mental Health. “It is fair to say that many liberals have become unenthusiastic about pursuing the gun issue. Yes, there are still ad...

Capitol Hill tries to find new normal
Four days after a gunman killed six people, injured 14 others and rocked the Capitol Hill community, leaving one of its own in critical condition, normal is nowhere in sight for Congress. On Wednesday, Congress set aside planned business to take up an itinerary that pulled a shocked community between matters of the heart and those of basic physical security, with a string of events that sought to soothe mournful souls and rattled nerves. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 The Ho...

Boehner Stymies Gun Reform
Wed Jan. 12, 2011 7:39 AM PST Gun Control advocates, stand down. That's the message being sent by newly engaveled House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who, The Hill reports, plans to reject the gun-control Legislation offered by Rep. Pete King (R-NY) in the wake of the Tucson massacre. King's bill would prevent people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members of Congress. A long-time proponent for stricter Gun Laws, King says his bill is meant to protect government officials and the publi...

Orange Julius Doesn't Disappoint
As expected, House Speaker Boehner won't even allow any Gun Control Legislation up for a vote, including Republican Peter King's bill. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-control Legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to the weekend shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona. Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) announced plans Tuesday to introduce Legislation prohibiting people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members...

GOP Rep. Drafting Bill to Let Lawmakers Carry Guns in Capitol
Supreme Court Police Officer A.J. Mackie stands on the steps of the court in Washington, Thursday June 26, 2008. (Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert told reporters today that his staff is working on a measure to allow members of Congress to carry Concealed Weapons in the District of Columbia - including in the Capitol itself. D.C. laws bar regular people from carrying Concealed Weapons for self-defense. There are exceptions - they can carry weapons if the...

The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords leaves members of Congress at a loss in more ways than one.
Barney Frank had left the floor of the House for a moment. Dozens of his fellow members were in the chamber saluting the work of their colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the lives of six people who were killed when a gunman opened fire at one of her public meetings. I stopped Frank to ask him what he thought of the bill, soon to be introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., to ban the high-capacity magazines that the alleged shooter had used. "The Republicans are in power and have generally...

Tea Party America and the Tragedy in Tucson
Submitted by BuzzFlash on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 3:33pm. Now of course, as we're seeing with the talking heads and pundits on on television, radio and in the press, there is an attempt to deflect the reality of what has happened in Tucson by trying to promote the idea that there is equal blame to be shared across the political spectrum for the Rhetoric that seems to have brought us to this point. But of course, we all know that is utter and complete nonsense. On the basic premise that having one sid...

Boehner: Attack won't silence 'sacred dialogue of democracy'
Addressing a Bipartisan prayer service in tribute to the Victims of Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowed that the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and others at a constituent event would not deter lawmakers from carrying out their civic duties. "No assailant's bullet -- no twisted act of violence or cruelty -- can silence the sacred dialogue of Democracy," Boehner said, according to his prepared remarks. At the prayer service, ...

Obama nominates ATF director; bureau without one for four years
At a time when some members of Congress are advocating new Gun Laws and raising questions about the eligibility of the Tucson shooting suspect to buy a gun, it's worth noting that the agency responsible for enforcing federal Gun Laws has been without a director for more than four years. Congress changed the law in 2006 to require that directors of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives receive Senate confirmation. Since then, there has been no confirmed director. All have been ...

Why there's no more debate on gun control
FORTUNE -- The tragic shooting on Saturday of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and 19 others has renewed a national conversation about whether our Gun Laws need tightening. But the chatter for the most part has so far ignored a curious fact: in Congress, the arena where any new restrictions would be decided, the debate effectively ended years ago. Even over the last two years, when Democrats controlled both the White House and Congress, Gun Rights advocates led by the National Rifle Associati...

Everyone coming up with bad new Congressional security ideas
The most darkly comic thing about Peter King's proposed Gun Control bill was that it was designed solely to protect members of Congress from guns, in response to a massacre in which multiple civilians were killed. The events of this last weekend aside, violence against members of Congress is exceedingly rare. Violence against everyone else in America, depressingly less so. But even if there is no awful Legislation that emerges from this tragedy, I'm sure that there will still be an increase in s...