By
Alan Gottlieb
Almost from the outset, something smelled rotten about a “sting”
mounted last year by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an effort
to target alleged rogue gun shops in five different states for
selling guns illegally.
Bloomberg dispatched private investigators
to conduct this vigilante operation, apparently neglecting to
advise the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) what they were up to. These “investigators”
had no law enforcement authority to engage in what may have been
illegal “straw man” purchases to entrap some 15 different
dealers.
The odor ripened when Bloomberg filed civil lawsuits against
these gun shops, rather than turn over evidence to the proper
authorities for criminal prosecution. Bloomberg’s office
refused to turn over that evidence, and instead the billionaire
mayor launched a high-profile media campaign demonizing the targeted
gun shop operators.
When he announced the sting, and associated
lawsuits, he took a cheap shot at ATF, declaring the agency asleep
at the wheel.
And then Bloomberg, with the partnership of another
anti-gun municipal politician, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, launched
Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This coalition’s purpose was
purportedly to campaign for laws that crack down on gun shops
selling guns that found their way into criminal hands.
But now
it turns out there is more than one fly in the ointment. Flies
are attracted by foul odors. The anti-gun Joyce Foundation provided
$175,000 to Bloomberg’s group. And recently, Anchorage,
Alaska Mayor Mark Begich, Rio Rancho, New Mexico Mayor Kevin Jackson
and Idaho Falls, Idaho Mayor Jared Fuhriman have bailed out. All
essentially explained that – surprise of surprises –
there is more to the coalition agenda than they had initially
understood.
Begich, Jackson and Fuhriman wisely turned their backs
on what amounts to a political lynch mob, out more for headline-grabbing
junk lawsuits and legislation targeting everything from gun shows
to types of firearms law-abiding citizens may own, claiming that
eroding the rights of good people will somehow prevent crimes
committed by bad people.
And now the Justice Department has essentially cooled Bloomberg’s
jets. W. Larry Ford, ATF Director for Public and Governmental
Affairs, revealed that the agency is investigating Bloomberg’s
rogue sting operation “in order to determine if violations
of federal firearms laws occurred.” Just days later, Michael
Battle, director of the executive office for United States Attorneys
at the Department of Justice, sent a letter warning Bloomberg’s
administration that it could face “potential legal liabilities”
if such sting operations continue. Battle also said the Justice
Department will not be filing criminal charges against any of
the 15 gun dealers targeted by Bloomberg’s 2006 lawsuits
over alleged “straw man” purchases. Such operations
lack “proper law enforcement authority,” Battle’s
letter warned.
Though criminal charges may never be filed against
Bloomberg or his agents provocateur in the gun shop sting, two
shots have been fired across Bloomberg’s bow, and he really
ought to lower his sails. Likewise, so should the more than 150
other mayors who were beguiled by headlines to join Bloomberg’s
anti-gun crusade.
Going after suspected illegal gun dealers, especially
outside of one’s jurisdiction, is not a job for mayors or
private investigators they hire. That’s a job for the ATF
and federal prosecutors. Bloomberg now stands cautioned that his
antics are under scrutiny. Other mayors, lulled into joining with
Bloomberg, might take this as a signal they need to reconsider
that affiliation.
In politics, opportunities to change course and
do something smart come along rarely, but opportunities to do
something stupid come knocking every day. Bloomberg, and his contemporaries,
have been handed a chance to wise up. Let’s see if they
are smart enough to take the hint.
Alan Gottlieb is founder of the Second
Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org)
and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and
Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org).
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