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Meeting with Members of Congress, keynoting an event in Maine, and joining with mayors from around the country to honor the memory of U.S. Conference of Mayors President (and long-time mayor of Dearborn, Michigan), Michael A. Guido, have kept my schedule busy since Thanksgiving.
Now that the lame-duck session of the 109th Congress has ended, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is gratified that none of the bad bills advanced by the gun lobby this year became law. I still don’t understand how someone can argue that “all we need to do is enforce the laws on the books” and then focus their lobbying efforts on weakening those laws.
I’ve been meeting with incumbent Members of Congress and their staffs to promote common sense proposals to end gun violence, but have also had the chance to talk with many of the newly-elected officials, most recently at a reception on December 6th, and was encouraged by the positive response from many of the new Congressional representatives.
On December 7th, I was the guest speaker for the Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence at their Seventh Annual Fitzgerald Award Dinner in Portland, Maine where they honored Chellie Pingree, the President and CEO of Common Cause. Pingree was one of the co-founders of MCAHV. The hundred-plus people in attendance let me know of Maine’s strong outdoor traditions of hunting and shooting, but also their broad support for sensible gun laws to strengthen public health and help reduce domestic violence.
Mayors have always been some of the strongest supporters of common sense restrictions on guns. They see first hand the tragedies that result from illegal guns. The Mayors’ Coalition Against Illegal Guns started by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston earlier this year has helped bring attention to this issue across the country. On December 7th, Mayor Bloomberg announced that six out-of-state gun dealers had agreed to let court officials monitor their operations to prevent illegal gun sales. This story was covered on the front page of the New York Times the next day. I particularly liked the reference in the news release announcing this settlement and other initiatives to the goal of convincing “Congress to take ideology out of law enforcement.”
I was with Mayor Menino and other mayors (including Akron, Baltimore, Charlotte, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Oklahoma City) on December 8th and talked about some of these issues, but the occasion was a somber one. Michael A. Guido, age 52, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors since this June died at his home on December 5th surrounded by his family. Mayor Guido and I have been friends since I first started attending U.S.C.M. events in 1989. When I was President of the U.S.C.M., Mayor Guido headed the committee on telecommunications. Just last June he signed on to the “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Statement of Principles,” an important step for a midwestern Republican. He saved his city and the concerns of all cities across the country. He was a good person and will be missed.
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Dear Mr. Helmke:
I have been following Major Bloomberg’s campaign against “illegal” guns and his attempt to build a coalition of the nation’s majors. (I also know that his independent investigations of gun shops has the potential of compromising on-going efforts by the BATF but that is another issue.) I also know that organizations such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation have offered to participate in these discussions but been refused.
As you should know, the NSSF has their own program (Don’t lie for the other guy!” which is aimed at stopping “straw man” purchases. In addition, they promote firearms safety and wildlife conservation.
My question is this…if you really are interested in “commom sense” solutions to firearms violence, why do you refused to include these types of groups in your discussions? I realize that you will probably disagree with them on many issues, but wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to get some real dialog going. Also, both sides would have the opportunity to understand each other better.
You have written many times that guns should not be a “devisive” issue. Yet by refusing to include those who might disagree with you, you make it devisive.
Sincerely,
Michael
Dear Mr. Helmke:
The Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence mission statement on its website blames violence on “an excessive proliferation of guns in our society”. So exactly how does such a statement reconcile with the state’s strong outdoor tradition of shooting? It sounds like a rejection of the tradition to me and another organization that simply will not respect and acknowledge the vast majority of gun owners in this nation having absolutely nothing to do with violence. Imposing more regulations on legal gun ownership, as what Mayor Bloomberg wants, has had the effect of preventing most law abiding residents in his city from owning firearms at all while criminals ignore regulations at will. I would hardly call that “common sense”.
Michael
[…] Either the Brady Campaign is lying, misleading people or there’s a mix up. Mayors have always been some of the strongest supporters of common sense restrictions on guns. They see first hand the tragedies that result from illegal guns. The Mayors’ Coalition Against Illegal Guns started by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston earlier this year has helped bring attention to this issue across the country. On December 7th, Mayor Bloomberg announced that six out-of-state gun dealers had agreed to let court officials monitor their operations to prevent illegal gun sales. This story was covered on the front page of the New York Times the next day. I particularly liked the reference in the news release announcing this settlement and other initiatives to the goal of convincing “Congress to take ideology out of law enforcement.” […]
Dear Sir:
People with guns is a polite society. When the government is armed and the people are not it becomes terrorism. I believe most informed people recognize your anti american work I can only say I hope you do. You may be very sincere,but sincerely wrong I would wager.
Bill McClure
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