Sangamon County Rifle Association
Right Reason on Second Amendment Rights
Springfield, Illinois


Jim Butler




Bloomberg's Federal Plan To Bypass
Congress and Disarm America

Jim Butler, President, SCRA







NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox in the April issue of the American Rifleman warns us that Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is pushing President Obama to take "Federal Action" on guns.

It seems the Mayor is tired of the slow pace of gun control supporters in congress to take aggressive action against semi-automatic firearms, gun shows and NRA-supported restrictions on the abuse of instant background check records and firearm trace information.  The billionaire anti-gun zealot New York City Mayor is strongly urging President Obama to make 40 changes to federal gun law interpretation and enforcement on his own, and bypass congressional approval!

Bloomberg has sent his plan to the president through the anti-gun coalition he heads, "Mayors Against Illegal Guns." (MAIG), a 51page Bloomberg battle plan titled, "A Blueprint for Federal Action" and only released in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

What makes Bloomberg's plan so dangerous to American Firearm owners is his multi-agency approach, and his ability to promote it with his enormous private wealth and him being the mayor of America's most influential city.  He was reelected to a third term as Mayor of New York City by thwarting "the peoples will" by getting rid of the city's term limit for that office, and by spending a record amount of his own money.  The amount he spent was one of the highest, if not the highest amount ever spent by an individual of his own money to attain public office, in American history!

Bloomberg's plan is to be carried out jointly by seven federal departments and agencies:  the Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  (BATFE), the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  The first six agencies are wholly under President Obama's command, while the CPSC is an independent agency headed by commissioners nominated by the president.

Bloomberg's "blueprint" includes expanding the variety of firearms the BATF bans under the Gun Control Act's "sporting purposes" test; requiring "Real ID" compliant identification for all gun purchases; requiring dealers to notify the BATF when transferring multiple handguns to their personal collections; providing the BATF with an additional $53 million to conduct FFL audits (while city, county and state police officers are being laid off); requiring dealers to maintain records of trace requests; expanding the BATFE firearm tracing operations; funding additional gun control research and empowering the CPSC to regulate the manufacture of gun locks.

While Bloomberg's blueprint focuses on the kind of gun control the president can implement without congressional approval, Cox warns that a push for stronger gun control laws in Congress is not a matter of if, but of when.  Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. - quietly seething over the 2004 expiration of the ban on semi-automatic firearms she authored a decade earlier - told "60 Minutes" a year ago, "I'll pick the time and the place" to reintroduce the ban," no question about that."  And don't forget Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, who is up to his old tricks in trying to pass anti-gun legislation in congress under the radar.

Bloomberg's anti-gun lobbying group "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG) is in a state of turmoil that may explain why Bloomberg has had to provide more than 95 percent of the funding for his anti-gun crusades from his vast personal fortune.

There seems to be a problem with the numbers he claims to belong to his group.  At least 25 members are not mayors at all.  An additional five members have already lost their reelection campaigns or have retired.  Nine members of the group - all of them actual mayors, at least for now - have been arrested or indicted on criminal charges.  These run the gamut from corruption to sexual assault on a child.  Five other Mayors of the Bloomberg corps have already been convicted of the charges against them.

More than 40 other mayors have resigned from Bloomberg's group when they became aware of its true hidden agenda of bringing lawsuits against members of the firearms industry and spreading anti-gun propaganda.  Otherwise, Bloomberg's true quest is to end lawful firearm ownership and destroy a lawful American industry.

Bloomberg has also conducted illegal "sting" operations, which jeopardized the safety of law enforcement personnel.  The Department of Justice has warned him in the past to stop these actions.  Attorney Generals from several states have also warned him to stop these illegal actions in their states or face legal action.  It would appear from some of his questionable actions that Bloomberg thinks he is above the law due to his vast wealth.

I have highlighted some of the warnings by Chris Cox in the 2010 April issue of the American Rifleman with some of my own comments.  For further, and more detailed information be sure to read his excellent article, which should be a must read for all those who value their Second Amendment Rights.


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