“If we find out they’re not partners, and if we find out they’re working against us, then we all ought to have a conversation as taxpayers about whether our dollars should be used for people who are not working to reduce gun violence.” That’s the threat issued by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (above) against gun and ammo makers who don’t tow the line laid down by The Mayors Against Illegal Guns. minnesota.publicradio.org reports that “Rybak told members of the City Council’s Public Safety and Civil Rights Committee that he and mayors from approximately 60 cities are taking a closer look at the companies that manufacture the guns and ammunition that cities buy for police officers . . .
He said over the past eight years the city has spent nearly $800,000 on guns and ammunition. Rybak, who supports stricter gun control laws, wants to work with firearms manufacturers to reduce gun-related crime and violence. He wants to know if those companies also are lobbying against tighter gun laws . . .
Rybak did not propose specific changes to city laws or purchasing rules, but said any changes would have to be examined by the city attorney. There are city ordinances and state laws which regulate procurement of goods and services, according to City Attorney Susan Segal.
“The city can always set reasonable specifications for purchases that it’s making,” Segal said. “The question is what is included in those specifications.”
So this is how they do it, eh? Manipulate the levers of power to undermine the Constitution that they’re sworn to protect? Thugs. And it looks like the Gun-Grabber-in-Chief may be on board, as well.
Rybak said he mentioned this approach to President Barack Obama during a recent visit to Washington, DC. He said Obama and his staff were delighted by the idea.
Obama plans to speak in Minneapolis on Monday to promote his plan to reduce gun violence.
He wouldn’t dare, would he? Meanwhile, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) says Ryback’s threat looks awfully familiar . . .
This is a re-hash of the Clinton Administration threat, spearheaded by then-HUD Secretary and now governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, to do the same with federal agencies. Despite a successful court action by NSSF to counter the threat at the time, the idea was kicked up again in 2010 by disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who suggested that gun makers must cease and desist the sale of ALL semi-automatic firearms to escape this punishment.
The battle to defend and extend Americans’ Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms continues.