Daley, Other Mayors Set To Talk About Gun Violence

WBBM ^ | 10/27/06 | WBBM

[holymoly]

CHICAGO (CBS 2) -- A group of mayors, including Mayor Richard M. Daley and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is joining together Thursday in an effort to keep illegal guns off the streets.

The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is meeting in Chicago on Thursday to talk about the problems of gun violence.

Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino formed the organization last April.

On Wednesday, Daley, Bloomberg and Milwaukee Mayor Thomas Barrett had harsh words for the Bush administration and the gun lobby's influence on Congress.

"When Washington makes bad decisions to protect criminals rather than the public, we suffer the consequences," Bloomberg said at a news conference outlining the agenda for the Thursday meeting.

Bloomberg said he had hoped to have 50 of the nation's mayors on board by the end of this year, but 109 mayors from 44 states already have joined.

"These cities represent more than 44 million Americans," the New York Republican said.

Daley, Bloomberg, and Barrett -- accompanied by counterparts from a number of smaller cities -- all complained that inaction by the federal executive branch and the influence of the gun lobby, particularly the National Rifle Association, on Congress have left local officials to combat the problem of illegal weapons.

"Mayors know that illegal guns have nothing to do the Second Amendment, and everything to do with law enforcement," Bloomberg said.

"But cities can lead where Congress won't," he said, adding that the goal of the mayors' group is to "hold Congress's feet to the fire."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said violent crime has been reduced significantly in recent years, especially in many large cities.

"A lot of the credit for that goes to mayors and law enforcement personnel and cooperation at the local, state and federal levels," Fratto said in an e-mailed statement. "Enforcing gun laws that are on the books is an essential facet of our efforts."

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said: "If the mayors were serious about reducing crime, what they would do is they would work with city prosecutors to enforce gun laws as opposed to having press conferences."

Mayor Daley said Chicago Police have confiscated 10,803 illegal handguns and assault weapons so far this year. He said the city still steers firearms violators into the federal court system whenever possible, because federal sentences tend to be harsher, but agreed the gun lobby has a disproportionate influence at the federal level.

"We've had to work hard to keep Congress from making things even worse," said Mayor Daley, referring, among other things, to federal attempts to restrict cities' access to tracing firearms data.

Bloomberg said the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives keeps its own records of multiple firearms purchases and attempted purchases, but denies that information to local authorities.

Democrat Barrett said mayors are closer to the problem and have a better view of it than legislators.

"We are the individuals who receive the phone calls from the police saying someone has been murdered," Barrett said. "We are the ones who attend the funerals."

The mayors -- including Tulsa, Okla. Mayor Kathy Taylor and Rockford Mayor Lawrence Morrisey -- spoke Wednesday at Chicago Police Headquarters, at 3510 S. Michigan Ave., from behind a table loaded with illegal firearms seized by police in recent months. Most were rapid-fire automatic pistols, but there also were automatic shotguns, military-style assault rifles and even a Prohibition-style Thompson submachine gun.

[holymoly]

Mayor Daley said Chicago Police have confiscated 10,803 illegal handguns and assault weapons so far this year.

And how many arrests and convictions have there been this year, for possession of these 10,803 illegal handguns and so-called "assault weapons"?

The mayors...spoke Wednesday...from behind a table loaded with illegal firearms seized by police in recent months. Most were rapid-fire automatic pistols, but there also were automatic shotguns, military-style assault rifles

"Rapid-fire" is relative (and in this case, hyperbole). Alsi, I seriously doubt there were any "assault rifles" on that table. I'm more inclined to believe the rifles were semi-automatic only, and therefore do not meet the definition of "assault rifle"

[holymoly]

Alsi = Also

Stinking typos.

[wastedyears]

What would automatic shotgun be? The M3, in which only 8 prototypes were made, and was never put into mass-production?

[MaDeuce]

What is an illegal gun? I have never seen one or heard of one.

There is no such thing as an illegal gun. Only criminals and tyrants think of guns as "illegal". Free and liberty minded people think of guns as tools to keep the former classification of people in check.

[bybybill]

This issue is to important to ignore! The Mayors should demand EVERY candidate for Congress immediately tell us how they will vote on more gun control laws! We need to know before the election. Of course the Rats might be a little slow with their disclosure, but thats OK, huh?

[newgeezer]

Already posted.

[GovernmentShrinker]

And how many arrests and convictions have there been this year, for possession of these 10,803 illegal handguns and so-called "assault weapons"?

Not enough, I'm sure, since most of the confiscations would have been from gangbangers with long rap sheets. But more importantly, of the convictions, how many convicts are still in the slammer even 12 months later? These mayors have no one to blame but themselves and their predecessors for the fact that their cities are overwhelmed by free-roaming career criminals.

I keep waiting for some 2A organization to put out a comprehensive study of just what percentage of "gun violence" is perpetrated by people who don't already have a criminal record. Every time some thug with a criminal record kills somebody with a gun, we hear all about how we have to "get guns off the street", but never any hard facts about the effect that getting the criminals off the streets would have.

[P-40]

"If the mayors were serious about reducing crime

They are not. They don't even have a clue about what to do. When you hear an elected official talk about gun control, they are basically saying they don't have what it takes to deal with violence in their jurisdiction.

[absolootezer0]

"When Washington mayors makes bad decisions to protect criminals rather than the public, we suffer the consequences,"

fixed

[absolootezer0]

oh come on, everyone knows that if we got all the guns "off the streets" all these criminals would go home make out resumes and get respectable jobs.

/sarc

[WildBill2275]

It's interesting that the people who want "gun control" the most all have armed guards. Bloomberg from NY has NYPD, and even if he didn't, he has enough money to hire bodyguards. The same can be said for Daley from Chicago. And we must not forget Hillary who has Secret Service for life.

What is needed is to tell criminals, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime". And then follow through.

There are no such things as illegal guns. Only guns used in an illegal manner. Maybe when "Lizzie" Borden did her thing the should have made axes illegal.

[Joe Boucher]

Chicago and its mayor, corrupt as hell.
How many of those guns taken have been resold?
Hey Daley, how's that mafia thing ya got going for you and your friends?

[El Gato]

"Mayors know that illegal guns have nothing to do the Second Amendment, and everything to do with law enforcement,"

Does this mean the cops in New York and Chicago have illegal guns?

Of course the Second amendment makes the whole concept of "illegal guns" somewhat problematic. Like FReeping impossible.

[El Gato]

Most were rapid-fire automatic pistols, but there also were automatic shotguns, military-style assault rifles and even a Prohibition-style Thompson submachine gun.

What, no pictures so the knowledgeable can rip this likely mostly or completely false statement to shreds? Why am I not surprised?

[Blue Jays]

Bloomberg is Republican in name only. He was a Democrat for the vast majority of his life before suddenly switching to run for mayor of New York City years ago.

[El Gato]

What, no pictures so

Wait, wait, I found a picture, on the source site for the other thread

Two whole rifles, well carbines anyway. One on the right is an SKS, a semi-automatic firearm, never produced, AFAIK, in a full auto version. The one one the left is some sort of AR-15 or clone, in CAR-15 configuration. No way to tell from that small photo if it is a real CAR-15, but it appears to be one of the '94 AW Ban versions with no flash hider or bayonet lug, meaning that it's a semi-auto. I figure the chances of it being a real select fire CAR-15 are about the same as of Mayor Daly rebuilding Meigs airfield, which he preemptively had destroyed, with out so much as a NOTAM, so he could sell the land to his cronies. (People who had aircraft hangered or parked there had them stranded until they got special permission to take off from the taxiway).