Friday, January 23, 2009

New York mercifully acquires pro-gun Senator

Here's the skinny about her appointment to the Senate seat by the NY Governor David Paterson.

She is in good standing with the NRA, for what that's worth, and two of her websites display her 2nd Amendment views. From http://kirstengillibrand.com/:
Preserving 2nd Amendment Rights:
Congresswoman Gillibrand grew up in a family of hunters and strongly supports the rights of all hunters and gun owners. She has been an ardent opponent of legislation that will curb the Second Amendment for responsible gun owners and currently has a 100% voting record with the National Rifle Association (NRA). As a Member of the Agriculture Committee, she sponsored an amendment to the Farm Bill that will expand public lands dedicated for conservation and hunting.
Not too shabby. Now from http://www.gillibrand.house.gov/:
Protecting 2nd Amendment Rights- Promoting Hunting and Fishing

I, like many natives of Upstate New York, grew up in a hunting family and own a gun. I learned at an early age how to safely handle a gun and I believe that every law-abiding citizen should always have the right to own arms.

The Second Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the federal government from denying law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms. And I intend to uphold this right through my votes and actions in Congress.

In September of 2007, I introduced a resolution to make Hunting and Fishing Day - the 4th Saturday in September - a nationally recognized holiday. I have also cosponsored a resolution to recognize hunters for their continued commitment to safety.

In Congress I have also sponsored measures to protect and open up more federal land for conservation programs that will promote and allow hunters and fishermen to enjoy their passion for the outdoors.

However, I also believe that we must do more to enforce of current laws to keep
guns out of the hands of criminals and persons with violent mental instability. Keeping our streets and communities safe is important to all of us, and lawbreakers need to know that they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if they illegally seek to own or possess weapons.

That is why I supported the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act (HR 2640) to provide incentives to states to update the Brady background check system to ensure that current laws are upheld as efficiently as possible. This was a common sense - bipartisan bill that was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

It seems to me that she's more for hunting than gun rights, but New York needs all the help it can get. The part about "enforce[ing] . . current laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals" could mean the usual ploy of making it nearly impossible for anyone who is not of esteemed political standing (rich celebrities) to own firearms that politicians think you shouldn't have, or it could mean that she wants to prevent criminals from having guns by, oh, I don't know, locking them up permanently when they abuse their rights. And I don't have a lot of faith in NICS, but you can't have everything. We shall see. Either way she is leaps and bounds ahead of the Senator she is replacing.

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