The Brady Bunch is lying again. I can tell, because they issued a press release.
WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, released the following statement about U.S. House passage of the federal spending bill funding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Justice containing the so-called “Tiahrt Restrictions” on police access to crime gun trace data:
“The U.S. House of Representatives did a grave disservice to law enforcement today when it failed to remove the ‘Tiahrt Restrictions’ from the Federal Appropriations Bill funding the ATF. Similar restrictions have handcuffed law enforcement since 2003. At a time when crime is rising, and corrupt gun dealers and traffickers are fueling gun violence in our neighborhoods, this action is inexcusable.
“More than 200 individual police chiefs, 11 national police organizations, 21 state and regional police organizations, along with more than 230 mayors, have repeatedly urged Congress to repeal these restrictions. We know that gun crime trace data is critical to mayors and law enforcement. Without it, dangerous gun dealers avoid public scrutiny and local police are deprived of advance warnings of possible criminal activity in their communities. Simply put, the ‘Tiahrt Restrictions’ shield dangerous gun dealers.
“Actions which favor the gun lobby and the small minority of corrupt gun dealers over the needs of police and mayors are deeply troubling. Congress and the Bush Administration should be acting to help police and mayors fight gun crime, not hinder their efforts. The Brady Campaign will continue to fight this battle along with law enforcement and mayors as this spending bill continues through the legislative process.”
First of all, the Tiahrt Amendment, authored by South Dakota Congressman Todd Tiahrt, specifically allows gun trace information to be release to law enforcement and/or prosecutors in connection with a criminal investigation. So much for paragraph one.
Paragraph two is even more farcical. Federal Firearms Licensees are perhaps on of the most regulated groups in the United States. While there will inevitably be some bad apples, they are usually caught and delt with expeditiously.
Paragraph three–I challenge the Brady Bunch to provide us with the 232 names of police organizations that want the Tiahrt Amendment revoked. The 230+ mayors are easy, they’re a part of Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun cabal. They only want the information so they can sue the manufacturers of a legal product out of existence, even though there is a federal law prohibiting such suits. What they say is unimportant, and we do not hear them.
Paragraph four is simply posturing, similar to monkey’s flinging feces at interlopers.
This is the sort of nonsense law-abiding gun owners have come to expect from Helmke and the Brady Bunch. Why this group has any credibility left is unfathomable to me. That the liberal mainstream media continues to report their blatherings is simply another reason they are becoming less and less relevant.