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==Criticism and controversy==
==Criticism and controversy==


The ATF, along with the [[Fraternal Order of Police]]<ref>[http://info.grandlodgefop.org/servlet/display/news_article?id=441&XSL=xsl_pages%2fpublic_news_individual.xsl&nocache=13240303 News Item<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and the [[Southern States Police Benevolent Association]]<ref>http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ssbenevolent.pdf</ref> oppose repealing the Tiahrt Amendment.
The ATF, along with the [[Fraternal Order of Police]]<ref>[http://info.grandlodgefop.org/servlet/display/news_article?id=441&XSL=xsl_pages%2fpublic_news_individual.xsl&nocache=13240303 News Item<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, [[Law Enforcement Alliance of America]]<ref>[http://www.leaa.org/]</ref>, and the [[Southern States Police Benevolent Association]]<ref>http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ssbenevolent.pdf</ref> oppose repealing the Tiahrt Amendment.


During a breakfast meeting sponsored by the ''Lady's Home Journal,'' Bloomberg called the Fraternal Order of Police a "fringe organization" after it opposed his efforts to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment. "I would say resident within the Fraternal Order of Police is far more expertise with the administration of justice than Mayor Bloomberg's limited experience in that area," said [[James Pasco]], the group's executive director.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/05102007/news/regionalnews/n_y__triggers_gun_stings_nationwide_regionalnews_david_seifman_____city_hall_bureau_chief.htm N.Y. Triggers Gun Stings Nationwide, The New York Post, May 10, 2007 By: David Seifman</ref>
During a breakfast meeting sponsored by the ''Lady's Home Journal,'' Bloomberg called the Fraternal Order of Police a "fringe organization" after it opposed his efforts to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment. "I would say resident within the Fraternal Order of Police is far more expertise with the administration of justice than Mayor Bloomberg's limited experience in that area," said [[James Pasco]], the group's executive director.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/05102007/news/regionalnews/n_y__triggers_gun_stings_nationwide_regionalnews_david_seifman_____city_hall_bureau_chief.htm N.Y. Triggers Gun Stings Nationwide, The New York Post, May 10, 2007 By: David Seifman</ref>

Revision as of 08:05, 18 February 2009

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition is a coalition of mayors from 225 different United States cities, with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The group was formed on April 25, 2006, during a summit held at Gracie Mansion in New York City that was hosted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. However, Richard M. Daley still holds his position as the CEO of this coalition.

The initial group consisted of 15 mayors; the 15 drafted and signed a statement of principles[1] and set a goal to expand their membership to 50 mayors by the end of 2006. That goal was met six months ahead of schedule, and led to its current membership of 225 mayors.[2]

The Coalition contains mayors from both major political parties, and its statement of principles has received the endorsement of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of Black Mayors. [3]

Origin

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is funded in part by a $175,000 grant [4] from the Joyce Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit organization which supports gun control measures.[5]

Tiahrt Amendment

One of the primary goals of the organization is to undo the Tiahrt Amendment. Since its passage in 2003 as an amendment to an appropriations bill, the Amendment has forbidden the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives *(ATF) from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation, and any data so released is deemed inadmissible in a civil lawsuit.[6] The mayors contend that the Amendment restricts access of cities and law enforcement to gun trace data, hindering municipal police departments' ability to track down sellers of illegal guns.[7] Mayor Bloomberg has called the Amendment "an insult to the thousands of police officers that face the threat of illegal guns."[8]

In July, 2007, after the House Appropriations Committee rebuffed attempts to repeal the amendment, the Senate Appropriations Committee went further, approving a bill that, according to the New York Times, "threatens law enforcement officials with prison time for using gun tracing data beyond a specific investigation, say, for identifying and targeting trafficking patterns."[9]

Criticism and controversy

The ATF, along with the Fraternal Order of Police[10], Law Enforcement Alliance of America[11], and the Southern States Police Benevolent Association[12] oppose repealing the Tiahrt Amendment.

During a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Lady's Home Journal, Bloomberg called the Fraternal Order of Police a "fringe organization" after it opposed his efforts to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment. "I would say resident within the Fraternal Order of Police is far more expertise with the administration of justice than Mayor Bloomberg's limited experience in that area," said James Pasco, the group's executive director.[13]

Five mayors have withdrawn from the organization, claiming that they were misled about the group's anti-gun platform.[14][15][16] They are: Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman; Carmel, Indiana Mayor James Brainard; Rio Rancho, New Mexico Mayor Kevin Jackson; Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Mark Begich; and Oldmans Township, New Jersey Mayor Harry Moore.[17]

It has been suggested that the entire list of mayors who are reputed to have joined the coalition has been falsified, and no evidence is provided on the coalition website of what it is that the mayors on the list have actually committed to.

Mayor Bloomberg has been criticized by Virginia's Attorney General, Robert F. McDonnell, for sending private investigators to conduct sting operations of gun shops in the Commonwealth without coordinating these investigations with state or Federal law enforcement agencies, thereby possibly compromising on-going investigations. In reaction to these sting operations, the state legislature passed legislation making it a felony to engage in private investigations of gun shops without state or Federal law enforcement officials present. [18]

After the indictment, arrest, and subsequent jailing of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has called on Kilpatrick to resign from the Coalition.[19]

Participating Mayors

The following list is complete as of June, 2007.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

References

  1. ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Principles". Retrieved on June 12, 2007
  2. ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Retrieved on June 12, 2007
  3. ^ "Coalition History". Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition. 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  4. ^ "Mayors Take on Illegal Guns". The Joyce Foundation. 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  5. ^ "Gun Panel Meets and Comes Under Fire". FoxNews.com. 2001. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  6. ^ Full text of current Tiahrt Amendment From ProtectPolice.org, a project of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
  7. ^ Knight, Healther (June 19, 2007) "Mayors Fight Gun Measure." San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. ^ "msnbc.msn.com". Retrieved on July 10, 2007
  9. ^ "The New York Times". Retrieved on July 17, 2007
  10. ^ News Item
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ssbenevolent.pdf
  13. ^ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/05102007/news/regionalnews/n_y__triggers_gun_stings_nationwide_regionalnews_david_seifman_____city_hall_bureau_chief.htm N.Y. Triggers Gun Stings Nationwide, The New York Post, May 10, 2007 By: David Seifman
  14. ^ Mayor Withdraws from anti-gun coalition, The Indianapolis Star, June 27, 2007 By: Tania E. Lopez http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070627/LOCAL0101/706270329/1015/LOCAL01
  15. ^ Letter to the Editor, Anchorage Daily News, February 4, 2007 by Mayor Mark Begich http://www.adn.com/opinion/letters/story/8614932p-8507468c.html
  16. ^ An Idaho Mayor Withdraws From Bloomberg's Gun Group, The New York Sun, January 17, 2007 By: Bradley Hope http://www.nysun.com/article/46799
  17. ^ National Shooting Sports Foundation: Firearms Industry Hails New Jersey Mayor Following Resignation from Bloomberg Coalition
  18. ^ Va. Tells NYC to Stop Gun Stings, Washington Post, pg. A01, May 10, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/09/AR2007050902573.html
  19. ^ Bloomberg Anti-Gun "Soul-Mate" Kilpatrick Now a Cellmate; Should Resign, Says CCRKBA - MarketWatch
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