Press release from the Mayors Against Illegal Guns:
STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS ON LARGEST SEIZURE OF ILLEGAL GUNS IN NEW YORK CITY HISTORY
After Undercover Investigation Yields 254 Illegal Guns in New York City, Mayors Nationwide Urge Support for Common-Sense Measures to Address Loose Federal and State Gun Laws
Following Monday’s announcement that an NYPD undercover investigation produced the largest seizure of illegal, out-of-state guns in New York City history, members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns – the national, bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors and 1.5 million grassroots supporters across America – released the statements below noting that this news demonstrated that gun crime is a national problem that requires a national solution. The mayors also highlighted the urgent need for sensible measures to address weak federal and state gun laws that allow firearms to easily cross state lines and fall into the wrong hands . . .
“New York’s illegal gun bust proves that loose federal and state gun laws pose a threat to Americans everywhere – from Massachusetts to Mississippi,” said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “It’s past time for our elected leaders to stand up for public safety and pass common-sense gun laws that will stop the flow of illegal firearms into our communities.”
“Whether we come from big cities or small towns, mayors across America are united by their desire to see sensible gun legislation that will help save lives,” said Mayor John Engen of Missoula, Montana. “Gun violence doesn’t respect state borders or city lines, which is why we need meaningful action to strengthen loose gun laws in Congress and state legislatures around the country. Montanans know that we can respect the Second Amendment while also doing everything in our power to keep guns away from dangerous people.”
“Just like New York, Pennsylvania’s cities and towns remain vulnerable to the threat of illegal guns being trafficked across state lines: In 2011, one-in-five guns that were recovered at Pennsylvania crime scenes were originally purchased outside the state,” said Mayor Geoffrey Henry of Oxford, Pennsylvania. “Until lawmakers in D.C. and states across the country support measures that will address our weak gun laws, illegal guns will continue to wreak havoc on our communities.”
“I have been proud to join with more than 1,000 mayors nationwide to keep illegal guns off our streets, because what happens in other states affects the safety of people in Minneapolis and across Minnesota,” said Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis. “Gun violence knows no bounds, which is why we remain committed to pushing for common-sense background checks and other tough-on-crime measures that will help prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on guns.
“No matter how tough our enforcement is at the local level, more and more innocent Americans will continue to be shot and killed in our streets until we have sensible gun laws in this country,” said Mayor Gow B. Fields of Lakeland, Florida. “This is why I’m proud to be a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns as we continue our campaign for sane measures that will help save lives, reduce the number of illegally possessed guns, and protect our communities.”
New York’s undercover investigation resulted in the removal of 254 illegal guns from city streets. The firearms seized included military-style assault weapons, high-capacity ammunition magazines, a fully automatic machine gun, and handguns. The firearms were trafficked to New York from North and South Carolina, which in 2011 ranked second and third, respectively, among the top sources for illegal guns recovered and traced in New York City.
Strong, common-sense gun laws have helped New York crack down on gun crime and remain one of the safest big cities in America. But despite its success, 90 percent of firearms recovered at New York crime scenes in 2011 originated from outside the state – illustrating the need to address weak gun laws at the federal and state levels.
About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 1,000 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition has united the nation’s mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at www.MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org.
Sounds like it’s time to issue some treason indictments and get some rope ready.
“Common sense!” “Tough on crime!” “Bi-Partisan!”
Is there any word on whether or not those high capacity mags were loaded with only 7 rounds, per the SAFE act?
Behold, the next Horse of the Gunpocalypse; “Whats good for New York State is good for the whole United States.”
Pay good heed, rural gun owner. The hoplophobes in New York , California, and Chicago will not stop until all of us are under their yoke.
That yoke is heavy as f*ck.
Indeed. Everyone needs to do their part to stop the spread of sh!tty gun laws like those in NY and CA.
I am thinking the same, the very same thing. I weep for our Republic, which is vanishing in front of our eyes.
It’s literally an assault on freedom and liberty from the east coast, west coast, and the midwest.
I have a pretty strong stomach (former Army medic), but I could not force down the nausea long enough to read this whole article.
But it occured to me in maybe the second paragraph – excuse me, THE ONLY REASON THOSE GUNS COULD BE CONSIDERED ILLEGAL IS THAT YOUR CITY PASSED AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAW SAYING THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED!
Everywhere else in America those same gauns are and should rightly be considered perfectly legal under the Second Amendment to the Consitution of the United States of America. Read it, damn it.
And I wish to hell SCOTUS would get off the damned pot and finally tell all these a$$hole mayors to stop already with the unconsitutional laws infringing on our RKBA. Unlike the First Amendment the 2d does NOT say “Congress shall make no law…” it says “…shall not be infringed.”
Thank you for your service and thank you for understanding the simple text of the 2A. That is true common sense and it seems to be lost on so many including many of our brothers in arms.
That’s true. It’s really true.
I also thank you for your service. As to SCOTUS decisions, we can’t count on that to save us. Even if we get a favorable ruling, the Progressive statists have clearly demonstrated that they have no respect for rule of law (unless the law happens to work in their favor, in which case it’s holy writ). They will never stop. They have to be voted out. I don’t know if we can make it happen, but I don’t see any other way. They’ll still continue to stir the pot even after they are voted out. Obama for instance will continue to plague us as a nationally active community organizer until the day he dies.
Sorry, feeling a bit grim tonight for several reasons. Including this:
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/08/19/will-obamacare-enforcers-appea
The only way Obamacare enforcers are inspecting my home is if they bash down my front door.
Which they will do. After which they will seize your home and anything and everything they possibly can.
Yup. These statist goons are trying to make us believe there are no firearm regulations, when there are thousands of them (ATF…Alcohol, tobacco, and…and…whatever).
So MAIG supports “common sense gun laws” – eh? They can prove it by supporting the abolishment of Gun Free Zones!
** No campaign finance laws were broken as a result of this announcement, nor was there any coordination between the mayors office and the nonpartisan political action committee. Mostly.
Lots of rhetoric, no solutions. It is already illegal to transport firearms across state lines without an FFL transfer taking place. So there are laws in place. Crazy thing about laws is criminals will break them. Just ask the Chicago gangster form the 20’s who smuggled booze, the Mexican cartel member smuggling drugs, or the guys that sell black market cigarettes in NYC to avoid the high taxes. But common sense is not what Bloomie is about.
The sheep don’t know this though. They think there are no laws in place. The demagogues know this and play to their ignorance.
Rhetoric will save Our Republic; just you wait and see! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
If at second you don’t succeed, try, try again.
If at third you don’t succeed, try, try again.
GET THE GODDAMNED ROPE, before THEY hang US.
And when it comes down to it, much will depend on whether people will get fed up in mass. As one of my favorite historical figures is credited with saying: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
ABSOLUTELY. A mass awakening must precede our defeat.
“It is already illegal to transport firearms across state lines without an FFL transfer taking place.”
Huh? That’s not true. As in, I am driving from Texas to Louisiana? Where are you getting this?
You are confusing “transport” with “transfer.”
If by “you,” you mean Crzapy then I agree.
ya prove they came from other states complete MAIG [more of] BS. New York ,one of the safest big cities? What planet are you smoking crack on? LET’S SEE; what 20-30-million people? 254 guns ? really, boy what a dent on gun crime ,you stupid idiots.Stop saying you’re for the 2nd amendment when all you do is trash it with you’re asinine ‘COMMON SENSE BALONY’ ALOW CITIZENS THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS ,AND HIDE AND WATCH CRIME DIMINISH.TAKE A FIREARMS CLASS YOU NUMSKULLS- MAIG,YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING,LIKE HOW NOT TO HIDE YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND ABOUT SOMETHINKG YOU ARE CLUELESS ABOUT—GUN CRIME AND FIREARMS. YOU STUPID B O Z O S !
It is time for concerned citizens everywhere to demand that MAIG stop their insane policy of artificially creating an arbitrage opportunity that exists in no other market in the nation! 300% profit on something so stupid simple to do even “Mumbles” Menino can figure it out. The only thing surprising about Bloomberg’s press conference is that he didn’t have 1000 perps and 10,000 guns to show for it!
It’s time to do the same thing to these Mayors that the prison inmates are going to do to the three “Son’s of Obama” that killed the young man in Oklahoma. Yee Hah, Ride’em Cowboys!!!
Turn the grim faces into HAPPY, HAPPY faces! YEEEHAAAAH!!
I really wish atleast one of them was wearing a “we are trayvon” shirt during the shooting or arrest.
Hard to tell for sure but looks like another trigger happy politician in that picture (Trigger Finger awareness people!!!). Why is it idiots want to pick a gun up and automatically start to pull the trigger (pew! pew! pew!). Stupid crap like is probably the biggest cause of firearms accidents.
I keep hoping there’ll be a fvck up at one of these “events” and somebody leaves a loaded magazine clip in one of those guns they get so touchy feely about and can’t resist being seen fondling.
whats a magazine clip?
Come on Adam. You know that guy has probably never held a gun before. Only seen it on movies and the like. He was probably thinking “Wow this is a gun. Jesus. It could come alive at any moment and shoot someone. Can’t believe I’m actually holding this…”
That’s actually NYPD Chief Kelly.
Bloomberg is there too, he just can’t see over the edge of the table.
So that’s who that guy is. He’s in virtually every single shot of Bloomberg’s MAIG photos, and ever-present at every “gun unboxing” press conference.
Guy looks like a straight-up mobster, too. Douche-face and pinstripe suit. All of it.
WOW. How pathetic. 254 guns. Really? That’s all? Is that supposed to impress someone?
I agree. This is NYC. Would have been a lot better if they caught 254 criminals instead of 254 guns right? Come on… Right?
They didn’t want to lose 254 voters.
it really does not matter what they think as Mayors … Because if they are looking to enact any gun law even for safety sake they ARE NOT upholding the constitution per their oath of office because ALL gun laws are unconstitutional ………….. What part of “shall not infringe” do they not understand …… Ill bet they have no clue as to what the constitution even says
this news demonstrated that gun crime is a national problem that requires a national solution.
There are no implied powers in the Constitution. They best remember that.
Well… Crime is a national problem. What makes “Gun” Crime special that it must be pursued and not regular “Crime” or “Knife” Crime, etc. Why has “Gun” crime been taken as a subset out of the the whole of “Crime?” So Murder with a gun is a special case that calls for special measures and special punishment? But murder by knife or any other means… that doesn’t need to be addressed. So… MAIG just wants to address “Gun” crime not … crime by any other means. Yep got it.
Many thanks.
The art of phony arrests and so called crimes reaches new highs with this one. Just like the drug arrests, terrorist arrests etc. They are invented by the police. This one reads like a text book example. First the NYPD trolls the net to find this guy bragging about guns. Then they spend a year and 170K literally building his business for him. They demand more guns. They buy every thing that he can acquire. They become his sole customer. Once they have achieved a proper publicity threshold they make the bust. This is what we have in charge of America.
“The undercover snapped up every gun the two runners offered during the investigation to prevent them from hitting the streets, officials said.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/largest-seizure-illegal-guns-announced-article-1.1430629#ixzz2ceQ6CoiQ
I get what you’re saying, and I mostly agree, but if you were in their place, would you let some of the guns slip by and hit the streets, or would you buy them all? I mean, if the goal is to keep them off the streets?
Please understand, I think their policies are mistaken and misguided, but if you were the one behind the policies, isn’t this the only logical way to go about it?
No, there’s not one thing “logical” about the entire “process”.
Quite right. I wonder if the defence team could try for entrapment?
In the beginning, three Kansas mayors signed onto MAIG, believing it to be a coalition working to suppress criminal activity and the proliferation of armed urban gangs. They soon dropped out in disgust, and noone else has signed on.
Under consideration at the Statehouse is now the Dealer Entrapment Act, the aim of which is to protect Kansas arms dealers from the entrapment schemes used by MAIG in their war on the self determination of the American people.
In the wake of the 2nd Amendment Protection Act, I believe this sends a clear message to our would-be Emperor that we are a free people, and that our leaders are not his vassals.
We are bipartisan. We exhibit common sense. We are tough on criminals and respectful of the individual. Hell, we even have decent roads and schools.
At this moment I stand less than a block from the home of the Kansas Rifle Association, of which I am a member and with which I share my ZIP code.
While I have long loved this place and been thankful to live here, today I am damned proud to call this place my home.
EDIT: Not under consideration, but rather signed into law last year. Only just heard of this one and misread the date. Mea culpa.
Still damned proud of this pace.
**
If MAIG is so good for the country, why have only an average of 20 mayors per state joined? You would think there are a few more mayors than that.
I agree about punctuation.
Robert quit posting about Mayor Nanny’s BS on this sight we know what they want dont need to see this manure.
First of all, it’s a “site”, not a “sight”.
Second, who can make sense of “know what they want dont need to see this manure”? Start your own blog, GUN LOVERS WHO LOVE GUN LOVERS DON’T POST DRUNK.
Easy, WB. Lance is cool even though his comments are sometimes a little difficult to read.
yknow its a good idea to use punctuation in your posts otherwise people might miss your intent I mean I know what you meant but some folks might not anyway the old adage know thy enemy is still relevant right now maig is fairly predictable but they might get the idea to run serpentine so we should make an effort to keep apprised of their drivel however distasteful that might be
I wonder how many criminals they could have gotten off the streets if they had infiltrated their local gangs with the same vigor and vitriol as they did these several halfwits.
I’d bet that all the guns were first stolen in the Carolina’s and not something that were bought legally. Then when they saw the prices that the NYC cop was paying (average $618 per gun) they brought up to him everything they could lay their hands on.
I’m not sure why you would pick on the “Carolina’s” (sic), when it could be Virginia, Georgia, or even Alabama. But I understand your point; I just think you got too specific.
Weren’t there a flurry of thefts from dealers in SC last year?
I’m not sure; the ol’ gray matter ain’t what it used to be.
Everybody involved was either from NYC (the receivers), North Carolina (one group) or South Carolina (2nd group). Not putting down either North or South, I have in-laws in both. Police picture of all 3 groups involved is here.
Ha ha ha. NY’s laws are so effective that criminals from other states are all too happy to break them.
When you do something that doesn’t work, it’s empirical proof that you need to do more of what doesn’t work.
When they say “guns can easily cross state lines” what they mean is that there should be some kind of fence or force field erected that would stop such a thing. As though the rest of America was some kind of war zone that they are obliged to keep at bay. Maybe you should be searched at the border, like when you go to Mexico, etc.
If that’s what it takes, New York City should just cut the crap and become its own country. Come on. Whatever it takes to save the children! Electrified border fences and drone patrols to keep the guns out!
“The firearms were trafficked to New York from North and South Carolina, which in 2011 ranked second and third, respectively, among the top sources for illegal guns recovered and traced in New York City.”
—
I keep reading spin statements like this and I keep having the same thought,
to wit;
None of those firearms were illegal in their “source” states and only became “illegal” when transported into NY/NYC. So if you were being truthful about it the “top source” for “illegal guns” is actually the criminals from NY/NYC who are getting firearms and then breaking the law by bringing them up to NY/NYC.
Tons of heroin comes through the Port of New York. Billions of dollars of it. And it poisons the rest of America.
Also, more than half of the bullsh1t in America comes out of New York. So maybe Mayor Scvmberg and his butt-boy Ray Kelly should STFU.
Most of it smuggled by the CIA to finance Black Operations.
Not most, but definitely some.
It’s open to interpretation, but I believe most, Ralph.
Then that puts you in the same league as Bloomberg
OK, so MAIG claims to have 1000 mayors and 1.5 Million supporters. According to the US Census figures as of right this minute, the US population is 316.5 Million. (you can check it here: http://www.census.gov/popclock/)
One THOUSAND mayors out of 316 Million people does not make a majority and neither does 1.5 Million “supporters”.
THANK YOU for transcending Government Mind Control.
But… But… 90% of Americans want universal background checks!
(Based on Quinnipiac poll conducted using some 1,700 “random” Americans in Northeastern states)
For the benefit of the AI at TTAG who may not have seen this before:-
Simple Problem Solving Formula ( of sorts ) as follows:
Identify the Problem / Decide what to do / Formulate a Plan / Predict the outcome / Execute the Plan / Evaluate the Results.
( some may recognize this as having something to do with transactional analysis. Or not. )
I got it.
The only time ice ever wished I was a resident of Minneapolis.
R.T. Rybak that POS, goes against everything Minnesotans have stood for (or against) in the legature this year.
Fvck him!
So the mayor wishes to reduce NYC gun crime? Having foisted on America more than 90 years of non-stop NYC-headquartered organized crime, he thinks crime is some other state’s fault? The citizens of NYC are suborning crime all over the US, whether straw purchasing of guns, distribution of heroin, labor racketeering, or financial fraud on an astronomical scale (accounting control fraud, securities fraud). And the mayor thinks the rest of the nation should give up fundamental rights so that an over-populated island can drive its low-skill laborers a bit harder without fear of the occasional outbreak of poor-folks violence? That’s precious. He sends us criminals (the main purpose of stop-and-frisk, really) but doesn’t want guns flowing his way? Pennsylvania’s North-East has gained, from NYC, drug gangs. We ought to send NYC rattlesnakes.
“Having foisted on America more than 90 years of non-stop NYC-headquartered organized crime, he thinks crime is some other state’s fault? ”
WELL SAID.
My stepmother’s uncle makes $83/hr turning legal guns into illegal guns.
For the win!
(Still laughing as I type this.)
Your stepmother’s uncle isn’t charging enough.
So it looks like the Fast and Furious guns finally ended up where Obama and Holder wanted them to go. I smell bullshit.
Every time I hear “common sense gun laws” I think of this.
“to repeat monotonously some common word, until the sound, by dint of frequent repetition, ceased to convey any idea whatever to the mind ” from Berenice – A Tale by Edgar Allen Poe
SUPERB quote.
Cmon you guys missed the best part… If you look closely the guns are pointed at the audience. The bolts are not open, safeties are not positioned on and the magazines are in the guns. Think that violates at least 1 of the 4 basic rules.
To me it just proves again that if you make something hard to get that someone wants. Someone will find a way to get it to them and in the process make a black market. I shudder to think of the Mexican drug cartels expanding their operations to be the Mexican drug and gun cartels.
They have made a gun vacuum in New York city and people who don’t care about laws will fill that vacuum. My message to MAIG is be careful what wish for. You might just get it and Mexico will be happy to give it to you. The drug transportation routes are in place and ready for the new business.
T-DOG, I thought you were killed off. How is a walker cognizant and typing?
Working a lot his time of year. Hard to keep up on the “things I would rather be doing.”
Bloomer can’t blame regular folks regardless of state for the “fully auto” weapons getting into NYC. Those are NFA items. Furthermore, if this is the biggest interdiction of black market arms into NYC, he sucks. This is clearly a “wag the dog” spin to try and recapture some of the image he lost a few weeks ago when many mayors were dumping MAIGgots.
On the Gun Confiscation Dreams of Bloomberg: Anti-terrorist strategy really would advise that, as a nation, we discourage the further concentration of finance and big medicine in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco. More and smaller targets is sensible. Smaller cities on a more human scale would obviate the need for such a super-surveillance state in the US, and make it possible to keep our freedoms. The rapid concentration of banking, legal, and higher-ed services in these cities, advanced by changes in law, have allowed them to suck money out of America’s small cities and large towns. Does interstate banking ring a bell? They say they pay more than their share in federal taxes. They fail to point out that that’s only after they take more than their fair share from the rest of the nation through concentration of high-margin operations. It reminds me of Paris in relation to France: Every Frenchman pays to maintain the city and increase its preeminence, but who benefits? Voila. The Parisians.
You’re clearly right, but the strategy is to concentrate us in more and more populous, compact cities, a la the Warsaw Ghetto….
Services delayed are services denied.
Guilty of being guns. They can’t change who they are! This is a hate crime!
Are they suggesting checkpoints at every crossing of every state border? No? Then it boils down to “the urgent need for sensible measures to address a strong Constitution that doesn’t allow New York City to make the laws for the entire nation unilaterally.”
The more I think about this, the more I wonder, why is it a crime to buy and sell guns? We have a right to keep and bear arms but without commerce in guns, exercising that right is nearly impossible for the average modern American. So maybe the paradigm shift is the notion that the people trafficing these guns are not criminals but heros helping an oppressed people. Nevermind that they were in it for the money and didn’t care who they sold to, isn’t that the way it goes usually anyway?
Has Comrade Bloomberg considered a really big wall all the way around his City?
Have we?
1.5 million grassroots members huh? I f*cking dare you to quantify that number, Mayors Against Civilian Firearm Ownership. You probably don’t even have 1.5 million Facebook friends, let alone active, involved supporters. No f*cking way, no f*cking how.
If the problem is guns coming in from NC, VA, SC, etc…. why is it that the crime in those areas isn’t Chicago level? Clearly the people in those regions have unfettered access to any weapon they want….
Bloomkelly’s argument crumbles….
Strengthen gun laws? First, let’s just forget that criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. Passing more laws under the guise of keeping guns out of criminals hands is either disingenuous (Yes, Bloomie is a big fat liar) or stupid. Or both. And second, let’s forget that their sting actually encouraged more gun thefts by increasing demand. Big Government sponsored theft is always OK if it helps to infringe on our constitutional rights. In addition, since the stolen guns came from other states, they encouraged crime in these other states. Once, again, this is always OK if it helps to infringe on our constitutional rights.
How many laws did these 2 criminals break? If they broke no laws then maybe we can have a debate about new laws. But they broke numerous laws.
1. Private party transfers without a federal background check. I believe this New York law should have stopped this criminal enterprise. Of course it didn’t. Because? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. No need for additional laws here.
2. Selling 254 guns easily surpasses the threshold requiring a dealers FFL. I believe this federal law should have stopped this criminal enterprise. Of course it didn’t. Because? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. No need for additional laws here.
3. Transferring a fully automatic weapon without the proper federal paperwork. There may also be a NY law at work here too. I don’t know. I don’t really care either. I believe this law should have stopped this criminal enterprise. Of course it didn’t. Because? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. No need for additional laws here.
4. Transferring an unregistered fully automatic weapon. No NFA paperwork. Big no no. I believe this law should have stopped this criminal enterprise. Of course it didn’t. Because? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. No need for additional laws here.
5. Transferring handguns out of state. BATFE (and really big explosions) doesn’t like this. I believe this law should have stopped this criminal enterprise. Of course it didn’t. Because? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. No need for additional laws here.
This is just a sampling. Please feel free to add to the list.
Don’t forget…. adding a second law for the same criminal act does not make it Doubly Illegal. Adding a second law making it illegal to rob a bank doesn’t mean you get to arrest or convict the bank robbers twice.
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