Posted on 02/16/2013 9:39:58 AM PST by DogByte6RER
Obama's quiet ally: Who's behind gun control bill no one is talking about
As President Obama comes to Chicago to talk gun control, Illinois' Republican senator, Mark Kirk, is pushing a bill to target gun trafficking. It's under the radar, but could have a greater impact than other bills.
As President Obama pushes for gun control in Chicago Friday, an unexpected ally from his home state, Sen. Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois, is crossing party lines to propose legislation that could have a greater impact than higher-profile proposals to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, experts say.
Senator Kirk and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York introduced the bill, which targets gun trafficking, last week.
The bill defines gun trafficking as a crime. It focuses on organized crime, cartels, and street gangs, and makes it illegal to purchase, sell, or transfer more than one firearm to someone or on the behalf of someone who could be reasonably expected to use it in a crime. Gun shop owners who knowingly facilitate such purchases would also be liable. Maximum penalties are 20 years in prison.
Kirks take is really interesting, no one else is talking about that, says Wayne Steger, a political scientist at DePaul University in Chicago. Gun running across state borders and selling to unlicensed and unregistered people is the big problem.
According to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which researches gun violence and crime policy, the majority of guns confiscated or used in crimes in Chicago were purchased outside the city limits. The top source states for firearms recovered in Chicago include Indiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas. These states either have weaker gun laws or are historically connected to Chicago over generations, with families residing in both areas.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Republican = enemy.
Mark Kirk is to the left of most democrats in the Senate.
When is this clown up for a contested Primary?
That's racist!!!
Weird. It would just be one more law that is not enforced. And, it's left up to the jury to decide any question labeled "reasonably."
So, I'd take this opportunity to find out where, in the US Constitution, the Senator finds this to be a federal power. Is he a subscriber to big federal government, or small federal government? Is he a strict constructionist, or not?
This liberal scumbag is exactly the kind of stealth rat the GOPe foisted on the party, and exactly the kind of scumbag who needs to be flushed down the toilet, ASAP. Anyway, he’s brain damaged, ain’t he?
What is in the details of the bill???? It is my understanding chicago has no gun stores so all guns come from somewhere other than chicago?? Duh!
Gun running across state borders and selling to unlicensed and unregistered people is the big problem.That is already a federal (or federal + state) offense. Private sales between people in the same state has no federal regulation (generally, setting aside Class 3 or whatever short barrel shotguns, silencers, etc. are); but once things go interstate, a federally licensed dealer must become involved, and must follow the law of the state he is selling into.
Most of the time that Sen. Kirk was a congressman, I lived in his district. His rating from Gun Owners of America is usually 0%, and his rating from Planned Parenthood is usually 100%. He frequently votes for unconstitutional pork barrel spending.
Will he have a conservative primary opponent, in 2016? I hope that he’ll lose his primary to someone who agrees with most of the republican platform.
Republicans that have a full set need to amend any/every gun-control bill to require that loss of voting rights be tied to loss of gun rights.
Can’t be trusted to own a gun? Sorry Skippy, you can’t vote.
The liberals would lose their love for gun-control instantly!
Sen. Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois, is crossing party lines for $$$$$$$$$.
Not a Rino but a mole.
I guess 20,000+ gun laws just aren’t enough.
Maybe one more will do the trick.
“reasonably expected to be used in a crime” eh?
Yup. What criteria are to be used to determine if a stranger fits that bill? And how long before Holder’s minions start prosecuting “racist” gun store owners for “discrimination” because they refuse to sell to more blacks than whites?
But, but, he’s a Republican! The Pollyannas who tell us we have to support politicians like Kirk say all that needs to be done is fill the Senate with people like him, and our country’s problems are solved!
Vote for people with an “R” after their name! That’s all the qualification you need! < / Pollyanna GOP sillyness off, Rove logic off >
Remember, it only matters for the second gun sold.
Good point about the claim of racism. A rock-solid rule of thumb for reducing the chances of selling into "be used in a crime" is to never sell to a black person. The FBI crime statistics provide reasonable basis for that discrimination.
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