The turning of Kirsten Gillibrand

February 15, 10:57 AMGun Rights ExaminerDavid Codrea

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 (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

My reports on the "evolution" of "pro-gun" Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's public position on guns have struck a nerve in some quarters of the gun rights community. Accusations have included I forget this is New York we're talking about, that I am damning her with quotes of others, that, as usual, I don't know what I'm talking about, and my favorite--and this one is from an officer with a state gun rights group--that I engage in...uh...something I can't repeat here with my "fan boys" while watching "Red Dawn."

Whew. Tough crowd.

Well, there's more.

It may be Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's clearest flip-flop so far. In an interview with news 4 New York on Friday, Gillibrand said she would not vote for a bill she sponsored just eight months ago. "Not unless they fix it," She said.

Right. She had no idea what a bill that she sponsored said. I'd like one of my critics to explain how this is not either an outright lie, or else legislative malpractice due to incompetence.

The flip-flop flap is over "trace data." Regular readers will recall we discussed that here:

Aside from the fact that the Congressional Research Service has found trace data cannot be used for statistical purposes, we're not being given the straight story here. Trace data most definitely can be used by law enforcement "in connection with and for use in a bona fide criminal investigation or prosecution."

And guess who opposes repeal? None other than BATFE and the Fraternal Order of Police, not exactly known to be gun owners' best pals. It's entirely a matter of self-interest--they know from experience that ongoing investigations could become compromised, and officer lives could become endangered.

So why is this such a priority for the gunhaters? Well for one thing, exploiting trace data enabled New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to conduct out-of-state "sting" operations that allowed him to put the squeeze on small local gun shops.

And after their low-profile dodge on the Holder confirmation, I trust no one is surprised by this:

...NRA Spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said “It was too early to discuss whether her approval rating would drop because of her reversal on this issue...

Naturally, I'll continue to monitor and update this story as warranted. But later. "Red Dawn" is calling and my fan boys will be here any minute...

More on Kirsten Gillibrand:
'Pro-Gun Pick' pledges gun legislation (second feature at this link)
The 'evolution' of Kirsten Gillibrand
A pro-gun pick?

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Fraudulent Pay Claims at ATF?

That's what Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown, editor and publisher of Soldier of Fortune Magazine claims in a special report he's asking activist gun owners to share far and wide.

ATFE Special Agents were deployed in Iraq on 90-day TDY assignments between 2003 and 2008. During that time, they were paid $4,175,731.00 in unauthorized and unlawful overtime pay. They filed fraudulent claims for the overtime and ATFE senior officials did nothing to monitor the claims or review them for conformity with federal law and regulations. In other words, the ATFE Special Agents, law enforcement officers who are sworn to faithfully execute the laws of the United States, filed false time and attendance reports claiming pay for overtime which was not worked and for which payment was not authorized under federal law.

Click here to download the Word document and read more.

It also discusses SoF endorsements for the NRA Board of Directors, a topic I plan on addressing tomorrow, barring any news developments that might shove it to a back burner.