</sarcasm>
Posted on 02/06/2007 12:08:48 PM PST by 300magnum
NEWTOWN, Conn.—In response to New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's filing of a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission yesterday, indicating that he would enter the 2008 presidential race as a Republican, the firearms industry's trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), reminded America's sportsmen and gun-enthusiasts of the former mayor's record of hostility toward firearms and gun-owners.
"Recent remarks indicate the mayor is attempting to camouflage his record on guns – a political maneuver now common for politicians seeking national office," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.
In June of 2000, then New York City Mayor Giuliani became the lone Republican mayor to sue members of the firearms industry as part of a wave of lawsuits that began in the late 1990's by major metropolitan cities like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and San Francisco that sought to hold firearms manufactures responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms. The Giuliani lawsuit is still pending and being aggressively pursued by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Giuliani strongly opposed legislation blocking suits like the one he filed against members of the firearms industry. In 2005, President Bush signed legislation into law that barred such lawsuits after Congress, by a broad bipartisan margin, passed the bill. During the debate in Congress the Giuliani lawsuit was specifically referred to as an example of the kind of "junk" lawsuit the law is intended to stop.
"Giuliani's lawsuit may have gained him praise in Gotham, but will surely handicap him in the rest of the country, particularly during the southern primaries," predicted Keane.
More recently Giuliani's campaign has flipped-flopped on whether he continues his longstanding support for restoring the Clinton-era federal ban on some semi-automatic rifles based on cosmetic appearance. The so-called "assault weapons" ban sunset in 2004. Several studies including those by the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control showed the ban had no impact on crime largely because the banned firearms were very rarely if ever used in crime. The ban had nothing to do with machine guns, which have remained heavily regulated since the early part of the last century.
According to the New York Post, Giuliani's political operative in New Hampshire, Wayne Semprini, "has been telling voters that the mayor will be an 'easy sell' - and that the ex-mayor 'satisfied' him that he won't support federal assault-weapons bans, as he has in the past." All the while Anthony Carbonetti, Giuliani's top advisor, has been telling New Yorkers "the mayor's position on this [the assault weapons ban] has not changed."
Commenting on this equivocation, Keane added, "You can't pretend to be a supporter of sportsmen and gun-owners in New Hampshire when you tried to sue the firearms industry out of existence in New York. Other politicians learned the hard way that sportsmen and gun-owners are a well-informed and highly motivated voting bloc. Former President Clinton in his memoirs admitted the gun issue cost Al Gore the White House, and Senator Kerry's ill-fated goose hunt cooked his presidential aspirations in 2004."
Formed in 1961, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is the trade association for the firearms industry. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.
BOOM!!! About time someone officially fired the first shot against Mr. mayor.
5-4-3-2-1
This is a good thread to re-tell your personal experiences with Rudy's gun-grabbing ways.
I'll bet they have no issues with Duncan Hunter.
I have seen this mentioned on previous threads but have never heard the complete story. Please tell!
hopefully many more shots to come.
</sarcasm>
Need to save this for other threads :>)
Just one final statement.
I've been sitting here getting more and more fed up with all of this talk about these, pieces of machinery, having no legitimate sporting purpose, no legitimate hunting purpose, people, that is not the point of the second amendment!
The second amendment is not about duck hunting, and I know I'm not going to make very many friends saying this, but it's about our right, all of our right to be able to protect our selves from all of you guys up there.
And nobody's talked about that.
Dr. Suzanna Gratia, Killeen massacre survivor who watched as her parents were murdered because she obeyed Texas law and left her handgun locked in her car.
Appearing before Rep Schumer's committee hearings on the assault weapons ban.
Who manages the "Bang" list anyway?
If the Dems are smart, they would support Gov. Bill Richardson as their guy for 2008. He signed a concealed / carry law. So Richardson could get the NRA endorsement.
(Actually, I would consider voting for Easley against Giuliani).
-Eric
Joe Brower
In other words, two guns that David Dinkins never took away were yanked by Rudy. He seems to believe that the 2nd Amendment stops at the New York City line - and his comments on Hannity and Colmes last night re-inforced that sentiment.
This is a crock. Rudy governed New York City as a New Yorker. The public ASKED for more gun control. There is no indication so far that he will try to apply New York City standards to the entire United States. He will project the plank that endorses him.
Surprisingly for a NE liberal, Howard Dean was pretty good on gun ownership rights. On that one issue I have respect for Dean.
This is a good thread to re-tell your personal experiences with Rudy's gun-grabbing ways.
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Get used to it folks, Rudy is NOT a Constitutional constructionist. The "R" after his name bothers me like the "R" after Schwarzenegger's name.
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