NRA – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Look to New Zealand for a real leader: Jacinda Ardern

David Posnett — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 16:54:25 +0000

Eleanor Ainge Roy in Christchurch writes in the Guardian: ’Real leaders do exist‘:

That was March 19, 2019. Remember?

Jacinda Ardern uses solace and steel to guide a broken nation. The 38-year-old prime minister has been tested like no other New Zealand leader before by the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s modern history.

While her leadership was spot on and has been applauded worldwide, I wondered at the time, how successful she would ultimately be, putting thru new gun control legislation. New Zealand has its own lobby of gun enthusiasts, like the NRA.

I also wondered, why can’t the US produce political leaders of the same caliber. Here is a follow up on this story.

September 12, 2019 / 11:49 PM. New Zealand’s PM Ardern acts to tighten gun laws further, six months after the attack.

This is New Zealand’s second set of gun reforms after weak firearm laws were identified as a key reason why a suspected white supremacist was able to own semi-automatic weapons that he used to kill people gathered at two mosques for Friday prayers on March 15….

The government had near-unanimous support in parliament when it earlier passed a law banning military-style semi-automatics (MSSAs) in the first round of reforms within weeks of the attack, New Zealand’s worst peace-time mass shooting. …

The new bill, details of which have already been made public and that will have its first reading on Sept. 24, will include the creation of a registry to monitor and track every firearm legally held in New Zealand.

As by Nov 2019, we have encouraging reports on a gun buyback:

More Than 32,000 Prohibited Guns Turned in, as New Zealand Buyback Deadline Approaches. By Asher Stockler, on 11/2/19 at 2:52 PM EDT

Some have tried to analyse the paralysis on this issue in the US. For example:

US gun laws: Why it won’t follow New Zealand’s lead, by Anthony Zurcher North America reporter @awzurcher

Here is an example of where we stand in the USA: November 12, 2019

A leading gun industry group is confident they will win. It believes the U.S. Supreme Court should have reviewed and dismissed a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The National Shooting Sports Foundation says it’s disappointed that justices Tuesday allowed the lawsuit against Remington Arms to move forward in a Connecticut court but is confident the company will prevail at trial.

SCOTUS has ruled twice to protect a very expansive and lax interpretation of the 2nd amendment, in particular, relative to the “well regulated” in

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

So I am not too optimistic in regard to the lawsuit against Remington Arms.

What about our current crop of Dem. presidential hopefuls? According to Politico and update October 15, 2019:

In favor of a gun licensing program: Booker, Buttigieg, Williamson, Yang

In favor of a national firearm registry: Steyer

Also: Eric Swalwell, who has dropped out.

Most of the other candidates (16) are “still deciding” according to this October 15th 2019 report. See comments section regarding updated info!

Contrast this with Jacintha Ardern!

Being Drilled for Armed Killer Opening Kindergarten Door

David Posnett — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:36:00 +0000

By Charline Spektor (with permission). She was the owner of Bookhampton stores and is now a Grandma.

My grandson began public school kindergarten a few weeks ago. He is so excited, and he comes home to tell “the best thing that happened today.” The other night at dinner he began: “Today in school we had a drill. It’s called lockdown. I thought it was lockup but it’s lockdown.”

None of us moved. And he continued. “We’re getting ready for a bad person who can come in and want to hurt us. The drill is you have to listen. That’s the drill. Listen. Don’t talk. Go into the closet. You have to go into the closet. If you don’t fit in the closet you have to go into your cubby. And you can’t say anything. And there can be a lot of noise. Close your eyes. Don’t say anything. Even if you have to pee. That’s okay. The drill is you don’t move, you don’t talk. Until someone comes to say you’re safe.”

My grandson just turned five. He is the most beautiful, wondrous gift on earth, as are all of our children, precious to us beyond words. As he told us about the lockup, lockdown drill, my daughter pressed her fingers into my hand: Don’t speak, don’t cry. And my daughter-in-law said, “Angel baby, you are such a good listener, I am so proud of the way you know how to listen. Did you go into the closet?” My grandson nodded. And then he said, “Ahma, did you ever have a drill like that? The kind where you had to be ready for someone bad to come in? Talk about it.”

Talk about it? Talk about what it means that we have created a gun-loaded society where sociopaths can be armed and murder children in school? Talk about what it means that children in kindergarten are being prepared for murder? Talk about the teachers who are teaching how to hide from bad people with guns, preparing children to be assaulted by people who have guns. Murderers with murderous intent who have guns.

I want to ask every single person I know: is this what you want for our children? Do you want our children having lockdown drills? Why didn’t we have lockdown drills? Because gun money was not controlling our country and our politics. Our childhood was not awash in the nightmare of gun-holding murderers. And yes, it is political. And yes, we have been sold and played, and our children’s lives have been put at risk.

We cannot afford to be silent for one more minute. I sat silent as my grandson told me the truth: This is what we have allowed our country to become, a freak show of random violence.

Talk about it? I wanted to say please forgive me. Forgive us.

The cash-and-carry politics of this country corrupted our moral intelligence. Our communities of silence have failed our children. We are facing a midterm election, and one of the remaining opportunities to speak up. Lee Zeldin co-sponsored a bill that permits concealed weapons to be carried in New York. When Zeldin sold out to the gun lobbies, he kicked open the door to the assault of our children.

Who the hell is responsible for my small grandchild being drilled for the day that an armed killer opens his kindergarten door? It’s political. I am voting against Lee Zeldin. I am voting for Perry Gershon.

Courage. Vote for our children. VOTE GERSHON. Please share.

Thank you,

Charline

Trickle Down Hate Crimes

David Posnett — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 17:19:22 +0000

Devastatingly awful. The rise of hate crimes & Trump’s vitriol are not independent or coincidental. It’s not the media, it starts in the oval office and trickles down.

Trump

(and his minions)

↓

VITRIOL
HATE

direct INSTRUCTIONS for violence

↓

And the NRA / Trump / Zeldin, they are promoting more guns. Guns for the nutcases, guns in schools and guns in the churches and synagogues.

Barbara —

The news coming out of Pittsburgh this morning is unspeakably tragic. A Synagogue — a place of worship, peace, and safety — invaded. 8 dead. Dozens wounded. All at the hands of a hate-fueled anti-Semite with a powerful military-style weapon.

The President is talking about how we need more weapons of war in our streets and places of worship. The NRA is silent. GOP politicians are “deeply troubled” yet again. But they don’t act. They won’t act. Even though it’s right-wing bigots committing the mass-violence, they’re fully bought-and-paid-for by the NRA and the giant corporations it represents. That’s the truth.

As veterans, we stand in solidarity with all who face these acts of violence — violence that Donald Trump has encouraged and fueled through his extremist rhetoric since day 1. And we’re devoting every resource available to make sure Congress does the right thing this time and puts an end to this terrorism in our communities.

I need you to make a pledge: can you promise to either vote for, donate to, or volunteer with a candidate who OPPOSES the NRA’s agenda of using bigotry and division to fuel corporate profits?

Oppose the NRA »

For years, the NRA has fed violent, paranoid rhetoric to their massive audience. And since his campaign begun, Donald Trump has done the same. They share apocalyptic, terrorizing propaganda videos, openly threatening peaceful protesters with menacing violence. They spew hateful rhetoric about Muslims and people of color in our neighborhoods. And Congress is fine with this as long as the campaign contributions keep flowing.

We have to break that cycle, and call out the NRA for what they really are: propagandists who will use racism and bigotry to stir up fear and hate, and watch mass-shootings from the sidelines as long as it means they can sell more guns and maintain control over Congress.

Join us today in pledging to support as many candidates as possible who will fight for peaceful and secure communities.

Our hearts ache for the people of Pittsburgh, the Jewish community, and for all who’ve been subjected to such terrorism. I know we can’t undo what happened today, but we can fight tooth and nail and hopefully reduce the chances of it ever happening again.

In solidarity,

Alexander McCoy
U.S. Marine Corps veteran
Common Defense

Stop the madness and

VOTE PERRY GERSHON

on Nov 6th

The Truth About Lee Zeldin’s Record

David Posnett — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 14:37:35 +0000

October 1, 2018 by Jacquelyn Gavron and Amy Turner

You deserve the facts about your representative, but you won’t get them from Lee Zeldin. Here’s the truth about his record.

OPPOSES GUN SAFETY

After Parkland, Zeldin said, “This tragedy could have and should’ve been prevented.” But he voted against bills to prevent them—background checks and assault rifle ban.
Zeldin’s received $61,181 from the NRA, more than any NY rep. No wonder he co-sponsored its pet “concealed carry” act overriding our laws and letting out-of-state guns flow into NY.
Zeldin voted against a bill banning firearms in airports and prohibiting terrorists on the FBI’s no-fly list to buy guns in the U.S.

ANTI-LGBTQ

Zeldin voted against preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
Said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman and voted against the Marriage Equality Act of New York
Supported Trump’s rescinding Obama’s rule on transgender bathroom use and all but said he supported Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military.

DISHONORS VETERANS

Zeldin’s vote to repeal the ACA would leave 340,000 veterans covered by the Medicaid expansion without any health care coverage.
Did little to address equipment and infrastructure issues at Northport VA Medical Center, which serves approximately 30,000 of the 130,000 veterans on L.I.
Zeldin received $20,000 from Koch Industries, which has been funding VA privatization PACS including Concerned Veterans for America.

ETHICAL LAPSES

Zeldin was sworn in to the House on Jan. 6, 2015. That same day, he voted to limit the power of the House and Senate ethics committees to investigate members.
Zeldin repeatedly voted against investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election–
Although use of private jets for routine travel violates federal rules, Zeldin voted against protecting whistleblowers who disclose on improper use of aircrafts by government officials.

ANTI-IMMIGRATION

Supported Trump’s repeal of the DACA, or Dream Act, which protected from deportation those brought to the U.S. as children
Defended Trump’s comment about immigrants from “shithole countries” and voted to require state/local governments to comply with ICE requests to detain undocumented immigrants
Voted to block federal funding for states and localities with “sanctuary” laws on immigration.

Lee Zeldin’s ‘Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act’ Puts Your Kids at Risk

David Posnett — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 23:46:21 +0000

Currently, New York sets its own rules for who can carry a hidden, loaded handgun in public – as it should be. Lee Zeldin’s project, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would take our rights away so that states with weaker gun safety laws would override our current regulations. This is the NRA’s top legislative priority and Lee Zeldin co-sponsors the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. We need commonsense gun violence prevention laws, and not laws that make our communities less safe.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

David Posnett — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 06:30:39 +0000

Published recently in the Western Edition of the SH Press.

A short count of Lee Zeldin’s ways:

6/3/2015: Lee Zeldin voted YES—(HR 2578: Massie amendment) to restrict the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, to regulate the sale of ammunition for semi-automatic weapons.

2/26/16. He voted YES—(HR 2406: Griffith amendment) prohibiting firearm bans in airports and other transportation facilities; YES, to allowing persons to legally transport firearms, or ammunition, from any place where firearms are permissible to any other such place “if the firearm is unloaded”; YES, to exempting components of firearms, ammunition and fishing gear (lead sinkers, bullets, casings, and such) from regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act; YES, to permitting hunters to import polar bear parts (other than internal organs ) if legally harvested in Canada from populations approved for hunting before May 15, 2008–when listed as threatened. (So the hunt is OK now if the population was not threatened then ); YES, to preventing Army COE from prohibiting firearms on public water development projects; YES, to declaring that the National Parks Service may establish hunter “access corridors” on public lands which need not consider evironmental impacts; YES, to establishing permanent or temporary elimination of any management status that restricts many public lands from fishing or hunting or related activities.

Zeldin voted YES to withdraw the “Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves” rule (October 23, 2015), which now allows “taking any black bear, including cubs and sows with cubs, with artificial light at den sites; taking brown bears and black bears over bait; taking wolves and coyotes during the denning season; harvest of swimming caribou or taking caribou from a motorboat while under power; and using dogs to hunt black bears”. HR 2406 also updates a December 28, 2011 ruling and now delists some Grey Wolf populations from endangered status and removes several “Critical Habitat” designations—the “Yellowstone Protection Area” included. These HR 2406 “Reissued rules are not subject to judicial review.”

1/30/2017: YES—(Co-sponsored HR 367: “Hearing Protection Act of 2017”) to easy access of silencers for guns, eliminating the $200 federal tax, and cumbersome registration mandates.

3/16/2017: YES—(H.R. 1181) to end restrictions on over 167,000 veterans deemed “mentally incompetent” from owning or purchasing firearms.

9/14/2017: YES—(HR 3354) to restrict ATF;s ability to prevent gun trafficking by freeing dealers from reporting bulk sales of weapons; and YES to defunding Center for Disease Control’s gun violence research.

12/6/2017: YES—(Co-sponsored HR 38) to allow any concealed gun carrier from any state to legally enter any other state, regardless of differing individual state laws. You can travel concealed and unafraid from “no-permit-needed” Arizona, to very vigilant California without a problem.

Zeldin’s NRA career total: $56,281. Yes, let me count the ways.

James Ewing

Six Simple Gun Safety Measures

David Posnett — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:16:10 +0000

PARKLAND students walk out. http://www.wsbradio.com/news/national/hundreds-students-walk-out-mass-protest-march-parkland-high-school/U2t2CRAo7lJnsHSFWZT62H/

A simple list of 6 gun safety measures that are supported by the vast majority of Americans, courtesy of Everytown.org :

Where does your representative stand on policies that are proven to save lives?

Do you support Red Flag Laws that allow family members or law enforcement to ask a judge to temporarily restrict gun access from a person — like the Parkland shooter — who shows dangerous warning signs that he poses a serious threat to himself or others?

Do you support laws that prevent domestic abuse offenders and abusers under restraining orders from having guns?
Do you support a law requiring a criminal background check on every gun sale in this country?
Do you oppose the gun lobby’s “guns everywhere” agenda, including attempts to force guns into schools and colleges?

Do you oppose the gun lobby’s attempts in states around the country to let people carry guns in public with no permit and no training, and do you oppose its #1 federal legislative priority, “concealed carry reciprocity,” which would force every state to allow untrained, irresponsible people to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public?

Do you oppose the easy availability of gun accessories that increase the lethality of guns, such as silencers, bump stocks, and high capacity magazines?

Join Everytown: https://everytown.org/throwthemout/wheredoyoustand/

Call Lee Zeldin:

Phone: (631) 289-1097
Fax: (631) 289-1268

Email here: https://zeldin.house.gov/contact/email