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http://www.nysun.com/article/58377
Bloomberg Allies in House Can't Stop Gun-Sales Bill
July 13, 2007
The campaign begun by Mayor Bloomberg to put an end to legislation that
would prevent mayors from receiving federal gun trace data was dealt a blow
yesterday when a congressional committee voted against removing the Tiahrt
Amendment from an appropriations bill.
The attempt by Rep. Jim Moran, a Democrat of Virginia, to kill the amendment
was defeated in a voice vote, and a proposal to weaken the amendment's
language by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat of Rhode Island, was defeated
40-26.
"Today's vote by the House Appropriations Committee is a profound
disappointment," Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. "It shows that Congress
is out of step with the bipartisan coalition of mayors, police chiefs, and
other Americans from all over the country that united behind a common sense
issue."
Even worse for Mr. Bloomberg's battle against illegal guns is a version of
the amendment that passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee at the end
of June. Aides to Mr. Bloomberg are studying whether a clause that would
make the amendment retroactive could, if passed and signed into law, result
in the dismissal of lawsuits filed by the city against 27 southern state gun
dealers that Mr. Bloomberg alleges have engaged in sales practices that
allow guns to end up in the hands of criminals, a spokesman, Jason Post,
said.
The appropriations bill will go before the full House in the next week or
two, when Mr. Bloomberg's supporters will again attempt to remove the
amendment. A final determination about the amendment's eventual passage
isn't expected for several months.
"It is another resounding defeat for Mayor Bloomberg," a vice president at
the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Lawrence Keane, said. The
foundation is a trade association for the firearms industry. "Now, Speaker
Pelosi will have to decide whether she wants a gun fight on the floor or
not," he said.
A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said the speaker was against the
Tiahrt Amendment but had no further comment yesterday.
Bloomberg Allies in House Can't Stop Gun-Sales Bill
July 13, 2007
The campaign begun by Mayor Bloomberg to put an end to legislation that
would prevent mayors from receiving federal gun trace data was dealt a blow
yesterday when a congressional committee voted against removing the Tiahrt
Amendment from an appropriations bill.
The attempt by Rep. Jim Moran, a Democrat of Virginia, to kill the amendment
was defeated in a voice vote, and a proposal to weaken the amendment's
language by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat of Rhode Island, was defeated
40-26.
"Today's vote by the House Appropriations Committee is a profound
disappointment," Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. "It shows that Congress
is out of step with the bipartisan coalition of mayors, police chiefs, and
other Americans from all over the country that united behind a common sense
issue."
Even worse for Mr. Bloomberg's battle against illegal guns is a version of
the amendment that passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee at the end
of June. Aides to Mr. Bloomberg are studying whether a clause that would
make the amendment retroactive could, if passed and signed into law, result
in the dismissal of lawsuits filed by the city against 27 southern state gun
dealers that Mr. Bloomberg alleges have engaged in sales practices that
allow guns to end up in the hands of criminals, a spokesman, Jason Post,
said.
The appropriations bill will go before the full House in the next week or
two, when Mr. Bloomberg's supporters will again attempt to remove the
amendment. A final determination about the amendment's eventual passage
isn't expected for several months.
"It is another resounding defeat for Mayor Bloomberg," a vice president at
the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Lawrence Keane, said. The
foundation is a trade association for the firearms industry. "Now, Speaker
Pelosi will have to decide whether she wants a gun fight on the floor or
not," he said.
A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said the speaker was against the
Tiahrt Amendment but had no further comment yesterday.
