My Congressman, Lamar Smith, is a lunatic

[sonias]

A Register-Guard Editorial June 24, 2006
What you don't know...
With wars and natural disasters dominating the headlines, it's not surprising that most Americans haven't paid much attention to a Republican congressman's successful three-year campaign to keep government information about illegal gun trafficking hidden from the public.

But the gun lobby is paying attention. Now it has instructed its lackeys to pass legislation that would make permanent Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt's preposterous spending bill riders that prohibit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from releasing its gun trace data to anyone except law enforcement.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, another of the many gun lobby gophers in Congress, has introduced a bill that raises to the level of lunacy the lengths to which lawmakers will go to shield even crooked gun dealers from police scrutiny. Smith's outlandish bill has 77 co-sponsors and is likely to pass in a Republican-controlled House that is packed with National Rifle Association bobble-heads.

Smith's bill is majestic in its unbridled excess. It would actually leave police officers open to felony prosecution if they shared information on illicit gun dealers with other departments that were not participating in the original investigation.

How stupid is this bill? Let us count the ways. Ever since the ATF began tracing gun sales through the background checks mandated in the Brady Law, it has developed a priceless database of information about where guns used in crimes were originally sold. From that gun trace data, the ATF learned that almost 60 percent of guns used in crimes were sold by just 1 percent of gun dealers.

So how come the same wingers that keep saying stupid things like "if you have nothing to hide, then the NSA spying on you shouldn't be a problem" aren't barking about the security holes in this one. Don't get me wrong, I support a person's right to own guns, but this has to do with real criminals. These are guns that have been used in crimes and Lamar Smith doesn't think tracking them back to point of sale is a good thing. Mayors in cities all over the country are up in arms (no pun intended) over this bill.

Here's Bloomberg:

A/P 3/28/06
New York Mayor Bloomberg takes gun fight to Congress

WASHINGTON - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted Congress on Tuesday for considering what he called a "God-awful piece of legislation" on guns. A congressman charged he was just trying to spur more lawsuits against the gun industry.

Bloomberg went to Washington to speak out against a bill offered by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, which would make permanent a bar on federal authorities' sharing gun trace data with local governments; the governments had used such information to launch lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers.

Congress has moved to squelch lawsuits brought by U.S. cities against gun manufacturers and dealers, charging they are misguided attempts to undercut the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

That second article actually refers to Bloomberg as a liberal republican. I can't say I have ever heard that phrase, much less seen that in print.

Sonia

[acmejack]

1. He is also toast!

Did you see his horrible poll numbers! I think we're actually going to do this, Sonia! Of course, I never really doubted it for a minute...

snip>
It's not often that there is a poll of a Texas Congressional race. It's less often that you get very many details. But today I have some advance numbers on a poll taken about the race in TX-21 between incumbent Lamar Smith and Democrat John Courage.

In a poll conducted by Lake Research Partners of 500 likely general election voters June 18-21, 2006, only 31% said that they would vote to re-elect Lamar Smith.(MoE +-4.4%)

This is an anemic number for a (20-year!) incumbent, as that number should on average be closer to 45-55%. The voters want change, and we’ve got a man of the people that is a teacher and a veteran who wants to be their representative.

http://www.burntorangereport.com/frontPage.do

[sonias]

2. Yes I know

I'm really excited to see Lamar's sucky poll numbers. That's because he's a 20 year do nothing seat warmer, who voted with DeLay 95% of the time. Their terms are identical. We got rid of one of them, we can get rid of the other one too.

It's time for a change. It's time for real leadership and representation. It's time for Courage!

Sonia

[derby378]

3. Aw, man - even I know the boy ain't right

We gotta get Lamar out of there. Go, Johnny, go!

[cagoldensun5050]

4. ALL RIGHT!!!

Now all I need are some similar poll numbers for Burgess up here in the 26th.