NRA PRESIDENT ACCUSES NEW YORK AND MARYLAND GOVERNORS OF RAMRODDING GUN CONTROL LAWS TO FURTHER THEIR PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS

In Thursday's issue, Newsmax covers an interview with National Rifle Association President David Keene in which he said that gun control legislation won’t stem gun violence. He also called new gun control laws in Connecticut, New York and Maryland threats to gun rights and accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland of using gun control to further their presidential aspirations.

Here are some quotes from Keene in his interview with Nesmax:

The reason is many of these things [gun control proposals] are basically what I call feel-good proposals. They won’t do anything to either cut gun crime on the one hand or gun violence as the president calls it on the other. They won’t prevent another Newtown, they won’t prevent a criminal in Chicago from robbing a 7-11. What they will do is put increased burdens on honest American gun owners who have every right under the Second Amendment to own and use firearms.

The real threats [to gun rights] are the kinds of things that have already happened in New York, happened this week in Connecticut, and are happening as we speak in Maryland.

In the Connecticut situation, they invoked an emergency clause which allows the governor, without going through any committee of the legislature, without having any hearings, to put a package before the two houses of the legislature and demand a vote. In New York, Gov. Cuomo put together a package in the dark of night, didn’t have any hearings, didn’t have any debate, nobody had a chance to read it, and they passed it.

These are feel-good packages put together either because of the emotion of the moment or, in the New York and Maryland cases, because of governors who are trying to use them because they want to run in the Democratic Party for president and are trying to appeal to the most left-wing groups within that party for primary votes.

In the process, they’re not only burdening honest citizens, but they are crossing a constitutional line. These so-called assault weapons bans cover semi-automatic firearms that are widely owned in this country, commonly used for legitimate purposes.

The AR-15, which is sort of the poster child for these folks, is owned by about 4.5 million private American citizens. It’s the most used long arm in competition and long arm training. It’s used for self-defense, for home defense, and for hunting.