Posted on 10/16/2006 7:32:10 AM PDT by SmithL
When it comes to political flips, it would be tough to beat the acrobatics of Assemblyman Leland Yee.
In the final 48 hours of the Legislature's 2006 session, the San Francisco Democrat managed to both brag about co-authoring a landmark gun control bill and then, at the urging of Republican gun fans, turn around and help kill the very same bill.
The measure, AB352 by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz of West Hollywood, would have required new semiautomatic handguns sold in California to leave a microscopic number on the back of shell casings, to make it easier to identify the offending weapon in a crime.
Yee was so tickled at being one of the bill's co-authors that he put out a news release listing it as one of the reasons he was named to an honor roll by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
But when the bill came up for a final vote, Yee apparently had a change of heart, thanks to Republican Assemblyman Jay LaSuer of La Mesa (San Diego County), who argued that the technology for the shell-casing stamps was faulty.
The argument wasn't new -- and it hadn't stopped Yee from voting for the bill in the past. Nonetheless, Yee told us that "out of courtesy'' to LaSuer, he had agreed to hold off on his "yes" vote "until something was worked out."
Yee, however, didn't bother to tell Koretz of his plans.
"And nothing was ever going to be worked out,'' Koretz said.
So it came as a surprise when the bill came back to the floor for what everyone figured would be a close vote -- and Yee abstained, beaching the measure.
A not-too-happy Koretz said he had confronted Yee about the change and basically got a shrug.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Welcome to the Kerry-go-round...
My hope is that the legislator realized that he was sold a bill of goods that was disguised as a semi-auto handgun ban, and when he found out that it was a defacto ban, gave up his support.
What a lot of anti-gun folks don't realize is that the lies they tell have a way of coming back to haunt them.
I'm glad this bill is dead. I'm happy that the guy seems to have realized the error of his ways. But...
...this guy seems to be a John Kerry wannabee.
Maybe, maybe not. A quote from the article:
But our story doesn't end there.
Under Assembly rules, since Yee wasn't the deciding vote, he was allowed to go back after the bill had died and change his vote to "yes." Which he did.
Thus, Yee can still brag that he officially voted for the bill -- even though his actions helped kill it.
HAHAHA!!! A man who really doesn't know what he even stands for. He seems to change his mind every little bit.
I am glad that this bill is dead!!
It's not dead. It's just pre-election time dead. That's very different from post-election time alive.
The deal-breaker wasn't actually on either side, I am informed, it was that at the moment this is sole-source technology.
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