Help John Dingell against Million Moms

[Bill Levinson]

Detroit Free Press, Friday's letters to the editor: http://www.freepress.com/voices/letters/elets26_20020726.htm

includes an attack from the Million Mom March on Rep. Dingell (D-MI) for his "A" rating from the NRA.

How to send a letter: http://www.freepress.com/help/letters.htm
(Election-related letters must be sent today or tomorrow. 200 word limit.)

Here's my contribution, sent yesterday:

To the Editor;

Million Mom March Detroit (letter of 26 July) attacks House candidates for supporting the Second Amendment. The following information should
tell readers everything they need to know about the value of an endorsement or condemnation from this organization. In 2000, the then exclusively 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Million Mom March promoted three House candidates on its Apple Pie Award page. Its Mother's Day event in Washington featured at least six election-related speeches and photo-ops for Tipper Gore and several House candidates. Tax-exempt money must have been used to plan and set up this event.

The Million Mom March Foundation's tax return for 2000 (Form 990, now available at Guidestar.org, search for "Million Mom March") declares ZERO expenditures for lobbying (Schedule A, lines 36 and 37). It says the group did NOT try to influence national, state, or local legislation
(Schedule A, Section III, line 1). I personally do not find this credible. During the period covered by this tax return, the group's stated goal was to demand enactment of so-called common sense gun laws. Dianne Feinstein's Web site shows members of the group posing with her on 9 May 2000 as she introduced gun control legislation.

[Dagny]

Are there no mom's from his district that will take his side (against the MMM)?

[Brett Bellmore]

From today's interview with Dingell in the Detroit News:

Rep. Dingell: 'I've been an innovative legislator'
(http://www.detnews.com/2002/editorial/0207/29/a09-548153.htm)

"Q.What is your position on guns?
A.I support the enforcement of all gun laws, whether I might have agreed with them when they were going through the House or not. I'm working with the (House) leadership to bring forward a piece of legislation which will force the states to keep decent records that are usable in enforcing adequately and vigorously the requirements on criminal ineligibility for owning firearms."

Yeah, and whether or not they're constitutional, too. I've still got a blindingly clear memory of the way he denounced the '94 "assault weapon" ban as an assault on the bill of rights... Just before voting for it.

[DD698]

Now Sara Brady has gone to bat for Rivers and is campaigning in her behalf. Its time to tell the million moron march people,Brady and Rivers to get a life. Sara Bradys cigarettes have killed more people then firearms have. Michigan people in that district please get out the pro gun vote. Dingell is one of the few DemocRATS who is not an anti

[Foxy]

Brett:

What else could he have said? If he didn't support the enforcement of laws, he'd basically be endorsing.. er.. anarchy?

You can be against a proposed law, but if you 'lose' the debate, it IS law.. you can work to get it repealed, but while it's on the books, you've got to enforce it, right?

Not defending him, but c'mon... you can't expect the guy to say he would condone violating the law.

[Mr. James]

Foxy, point taken, but it's not addressing Mr. Bellmore's original post. I believe Mr. Bellmore was pointing out Mr. Dingell's pusillanimity in talking the talk but then walking when it counted. How can Mr. Dingell reconcile his rhetoric with his vote? Quite simply, he cannot.

[tyme]

I support the enforcement of all gun laws, whether I might have agreed with them when they were going through the House or not. I'm working with the (House) leadership to bring forward a piece of legislation which will force the states to keep decent records that are usable in enforcing adequately and vigorously the requirements on criminal ineligibility for owning firearms."To me, that basically reads, "I support getting all criminal histories online so that domestic dispute that you got into 40 years ago will actually be noticed by the feds the next time you try to buy a firearm." Not only is he not arguing against enforcement, he's actively promoting an enforcement mechanism, even if it's for one of the less egregious RKBA violations.

[Brett Bellmore]

What else could he have said? How about,

"We have a Constitution in this country. It's the highest law of the land, and laws adopted in defiance of it are null and void; That's been legal doctrine since Marbury v. Madison. Furthermore, every federal official, every DA, every cop, swears an oath to defend that Constitution. I'd like to see more of them actually take those oaths seriously, and refuse to enforce laws they believe to be unconstitutional. Otherwise, why are we making people take them?

So do I think gun control laws ought to be enforced? Do I think the Constitution ought to be VIOLATED? No. After all, I took that oath, too. And if you think that's unreasonable, tell me: If Congress passed a press censorship law, would you insist that it be enforced?"

Of course, as an author and supporter of unconstitutional laws, including laws he openly acknowleges to be unconstitutional, he'd never say that. Like most members of Congress, the very suggestion that there's anything he can't do gets him very made. If he passes a law, damn if, we have to OBEY IT. And he doesn't want any back talk about constitutions!

Look, about the only thing about Dingell that recomends him, in my book, is his being pro-gun. And he's not nearly as pro-gun as he used to be. A lot of people complained when he voted for that ban, and so far as I can tell, instead of admitting to himself that he'd done something wrong, he rationalized his vote as ok, and decided that his former allies were a pack of raving fanatics. Ayatollas, I believe he called us.

Is he better than Rivers? Sure. Is he better than your average member of Congress, on the 2nd amendment? Maybe. But he's not our friend, and that "A" he has from the NRA is grade inflation. These days he's a "B". I expect he'll work his way to "C", then "D", if he's given enough time.

[dischord]

FWIW, Brady Campaign launched a web site attacking ole John: http://www.dingellandguns.com/

[rolf]

This talk about the failures of Mr. Dingell is all well and good from a purist point of view, but the issue here is impure, possible POLITICS. MMM has targeted this primary race (which is just days away) because Dingell is a pro-gun Democrat. If he loses, the antis win big time.

[Brett Bellmore]

Right, support Dingell in the primary, then vote for the Republican in the general election. That's what I'd do if I weren't a few miles out of Dingell's district.

[MuzzleBlast]

ALL politicians talk out both sides of their mouths. With a few notable exceptions, you can't really say that any politician is clearly an anti or clearly on our side, because what they say is entirely dependent on to whom they are talking.
I though I had a point, but I seem to have forgotten it. Sorry.