Archive for the ‘National Rifle Association’ Category

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has entered the debate over gun control with a video that features U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Augusta, as its poster child.

The video splices in a 2012 campaign ad used by Barrow, touting his support of the National Rifle Association and his opposition to gun legislation, with scenes of Sandy Hook Elementary School. Additionally, the group points out that on Wednesday, Barrow was critical of gun control legislation proposed by President Barack Obama. Said Barrow, In part:

”I strongly disagree with proposals that would deny law abiding citizens their Second Amendment rights, and I’m disappointed he did not propose increased security measures for our schools.

Here’s the CSGV video:

The group points to the $27,250 that Barrow has received from the NRA over eight years. The quote from CSGV executive director Josh Horwitz: “Representative Barrow has been bought for the price of a new truck. It would be laughable if his lack of regard for our …

Continue reading With a little selective editing, John Barrow becomes poster child for anti-gun group »

The big news in Washington today is President Barack Obama’s roll-out of executive orders and proposed Congressional actions in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre last month.

The proposals are being met with an aggressive counterattack from the National Rifle Association, which called Obama a hypocrite for not calling for armed guards in all schools when his own daughters are protected by armed guards at all times. That being the Secret Service. Here’s the ad:

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Decatur, didn’t like this one bit. In a conversation with Your Washington Correspondent today, Johnson said the NRA’s opposition to the Obama proposals — read them all here — is personal and, in part, racially motivated. Said Johnson:

“They are a tool of the free enterprise system and they, like many of their philosophical friends, don’t want any regulations on anything, and they don’t want the federal government to be involved in any area other than the defense of the nation …

Continue reading Hank Johnson: NRA has “invoked racist sensitivities” »

The National Rifle Association is out with their endorsements in contested Georgia state legislative races this afternoon. Click here for the entire list.

The big surprise: In the District 21 race for state Senate, the NRA has given a higher grade to GOP challenger Brandon Beach of Alpharetta than to Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of Woodstock.

Rogers was awarded a “B.” Beach was given an “AQ” – that is, an A based on his answers to a questionnaire rather than his votes on legislation.

You’ll recall that last March, the NRA accused Rogers and Senate President pro tem Tommie Williams of working behind the scenes to kill an effort by the gun rights organization to pass legislation that would allow employees to keep firearms in locked vehicles parked on company lots.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading NRA gives Chip Rogers a ‘B,’ hands Brandon Beach an ‘A’ »

Monday is shaping up to be a day of protest at and around the state Capitol.

Students from Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and John Marshall Law School are putting together a Skittles-and-hoodies protest focused on the Florida killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and Florida’s “stand your ground” law.

Demonstrators will be targeting several gun bills still under consideration by the Legislature, which they term “a continuation” of Georgia’s 2006 law that expanded the circumstances under which a shooter could claim self-defense.

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The annual President’s Day fund-raiser for the Georgia Republican party on Monday – usually a sleepy event – is likely to get more attention this time around. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is facing a recall election after last year’s confrontation with public employee unions, will be the keynote speaker.

Union workers in Atlanta are already planning a welcome for Walker at the downtown Marriott …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: A Skittles-and-hoodies protest headed for the state Capitol »

Last week, on the crucial Crossover Day, SB 350 passed the Senate with a comfortable 49-to-4 margin.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, merely calls on the judicial system to restore firearms used in crimes to their innocent owners – a stolen pistol used in a robbery, for instance.

More important was what the bill did not contain – an amendment that would give employees the right to keep firearms in their locked cars in employee parking lots. Four years ago, Balfour led the pro-business fight on the issue, but he has recently converted to the opinion championed by the National Rifle Association.

But apparently not enough of his friends felt the same way. Posted on this NRA website is an attack on Senate GOP leaders:

Every effort was made to work with each interested party and organization that had a vested interest in this bill and was willing to come to the table. The NRA made some changes on the drafted amendment to try to address some …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: NRA chastises Senate GOP leaders »

Jason Stubbs, left, of Georgia Students for Concealed Carry on Campus sets up a booth with Georgia Tech College Republicans' Andrew Mullins during a December debate on campus. John Spink, jspink@ajc.com.

Nearly five years ago, a disturbed English major at Virginia Tech killed 32 of his fellow classmates and wounded a score more.

The campus massacre occurred at the height of that year’s session of the Georgia Legislature. A bill to rewrite the state’s gun laws — and overturn bans on where firearms could and could not be carried — was stopped in its tracks.

But every yin has its yang. The recent spate of robberies and assaults on or near the Georgia Tech campus near downtown Atlanta is about to unleash an equal and opposite reaction — a furious debate over the place of guns in public spaces long declared gunpowder-free.

Including, and perhaps especially, in college dormitories and classrooms.

Representatives of the National Rifle Association were in town and stopped …

Continue reading Ga. Tech crime sparks NRA-backed push for campus guns »

The civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the circumstances surrounding the city of Lilburn’s decision to block the expansion of a local mosque, Mark Winne of Channel 2 Action News reports.

Members of the Dar-e Abbas congregation begin to arrive at the Lilburn in January. Bita Honarvar, bhonarvar@ajc.com

A federal official confirmed the probe, but declined further comment. Richard Carothers, attorney for the city, said the local government is cooperating.

“We think that we are being discriminated against. We think they don’t want the Muslims to continue to worship in the city,” said Doug Dillard, attorney for the Dar-e Abbas Shia Islamic Center.

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Joe McCutchen, the sage of Jasper, sends word that U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, broke his foot on Thursday during a game of basketball. He’ll be on crutches for a while.

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On Thursday, live camera trucks from both CNN and Fox News parked themselves in front of the state Capitol to …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: U.S. Justice Department looking into Lilburn denial of mosque expansion »

In Florida, Republicans in that state’s legislature are pushing a bill to prohibit physicians from asking patients whether they own a gun.

We’re told a similar firearms privacy measure is being prepared for Georgia, and will hit within the next few weeks.

A preview from the Florida Times-Union:

Over the past three decades, Jeff Goldhagen has counseled countless parents on how to keep their kids safe around guns. The Jacksonville pediatrician usually begins the conversations with a question: Do you own any firearms?

That kind of inquiry could land him in jail for up to five years or cost him a $5 million fine under a measure making its way through the Florida Legislature, despite stiff resistance from medical groups. The bill would make it a felony for a physician or any medical worker to ask a patient or the patient’s family whether they own a gun.

Gun rights advocates say the bill offers critical privacy protection for firearm owners. But Goldhagen and others in the …

Continue reading Do you have a firearm in the house? Docs, their questions and Georgia’s next gun fight »