Republicans Backing The Right Of Terrorists And Sex Offenders To Carry Concealed Weapons?

When billionaire NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg bowed to Wall Street pressure to remove the OccupyWallStreet protesters from Zuccotti Park last night, he claimed, without a shred of evidence, that protesters were defecating someplace where there was no flushing and stockpiling weapons. The city then went on to ignore orders from the state Supreme Court to stop interfering with the constitutional rights of the protesters. There's a breakdown of law and order in the country's biggest city and the breakdown is being orchestrated by the mayor himself.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, whose district includes Zuccotti Park, issued this statement with state Senator Daniel Squadron, who also represents Lower Manhattan:

We agree that Zuccotti Park must be open and accessible to everyone-- OWS, the public, law enforcement and first responders-- and that it is critical to protect the health and safety of protesters and the community.

We have also been urging the City to have a zero tolerance policy on noise and sanitation violations, and to make the results of its enforcement public.

But we must balance the core First Amendment rights of protesters and the other legitimate issues that have been raised.

The City’s actions to shut down OWS last night raise a number of serious civil liberties questions that must be answered. Moving forward, how will the City respect the protesters’ rights to speech and assembly? Why was press access limited, and why were some reporters’ credentials confiscated? How will reported incidents of excessive force used by the police be addressed?

On the issue of Brookfield’s rules, we are very concerned that they were promulgated after the protesters arrived; the specific legal questions on this topic are being addressed where it is appropriate-- in the courts.

Whatever the courts rule, the City’s actions here must not be a backdoor means of ending the free exercise of protesters’ rights.

Irrespective of this incident, OWS is now bigger than Zuccotti Park, and no one has the power to silence this national movement.

But that wasn't the only joint statement Nadler issued today. The other one was with David Cicilline (D-RI) berating Republicans in the House Rules Committee for blocking his two amendments to the GOP-sponsored H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. The first amendment, which Nadler offered with Cicilline, would prevent known or suspected terrorists from carrying concealed firearms across state lines. The second amendment would prohibit convicted sex offenders of children from carrying concealed firearms in states that outlaw such conduct.

“It’s quite shocking that my Republican colleagues are backing a ‘gun rights’ bill which would both increase the presence of dangerous weapons in our communities and decrease states’ rights to regulate such weapons,” said Nadler. “Last night, Republicans in the Rules Committee blocked House consideration of amendments restricting the use of concealed weapons among sex offenders of children and terrorists. This is patently absurd. Are the supposed ‘gun rights’ of predators and terrorists more sacrosanct than the safety of children and law-abiding Americans?”

“The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act is irresponsible legislation which undermines states’ ability to control concealed weapons within its borders,” said Cicilline. “By blocking consideration of these amendments, the GOP has recklessly preserved a pathway for some of the most dangerous individuals, including known or suspected terrorists, to conceal and carry firearms across state lines.”

Maybe if they included a provision about people from OccupyWallStreet not being allowed to carry cardboard tubes...


UPDATE: The Vote... Very Bizarre

No one doubted the bill would pass. The NRA is too strong and the spines of too many congressmen too weak for any other outcome to be seriously contemplated. In the end H.R. 822, amending title 18 of the U.S. Code, to provide a national standard in accordance with which nonresidents of a State may carry concealed firearms in the State passed 272-154. Only 7 Republicans (mostly from New York) had the guts to vote against it, while 43 Democrats crossed the aisle in the other direction to vote YES, so, obviously, more than just Blue Dogs. But the vote that shocked me was on the amendment offered by Nadler and Cicciline. It also failed and by roughly the same vote, 277-146. Remember, this is the one that doesn't allow known or suspected terrorists to carry concealed firearms across state lines. Only 1 Republican voted for it. And 43 Democrats voted with the Republicans against it... again, not just the Blue Dogs but also political cowards aspiring to higher office like Shelley Berkley (NV), Martin Heinrich (NM) and Chris Murphy (CT)-- 3 moderates running for Senate, making the kinds of decisions that will give you a hunt about their characters and what kind of senators they're likely to be. This was a vote, in effect, to allow terrorists to carry concealed weapons across state borders... because the NRA demanded it because... well, just because.