BELLEVUE, Wash., June 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Several members of
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun Mayors Against Illegal Guns
coalition are annoyed by freedom of information requests about their
activities from a California law firm, yet these same mayors have no
problem demanding complete access to sensitive gun trace data.
The Second Amendment Foundation today said the mayors are practicing a
double standard and are guilty of "world class hypocrisy." SAF founder Alan
Gottlieb pointed to a remark from Joseph Arellano in San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom's office, who contended that the information being sought by
the law firm of Trutanich Michel "is privileged."
"That information couldn't be anywhere near as privileged as the gun
trace data kept by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
that these anti-gun mayors want to get their hands on," Gottlieb stated.
"Mayors Against Illegal Guns has been pushing for repeal of the Tiahrt
Amendment this week just so they can access that data and use it to further
their anti-gun lawsuit agenda.
"This has nothing to do with crime prevention, and they know it," he
continued. "They've been saying the trace data is not available to law
enforcement, and that's a lie. Gun trace data is available for legitimate
on- going criminal investigations. It's just not available for politically-
motivated legal fishing expeditions."
Gottlieb said Trutanich Michel has every right to the information it is
seeking, because no criminal investigations would be jeopardized if they
get it. That is not the case with the mayors wanting access to gun trace
data, where criminal investigations could easily be compromised.
"It is arrogant beyond words for these mayors to demand access to gun
trace data, and then turn around and declare that information about their
coalition's activities is privileged," he remarked. "The mayors claim they
are working in the public interest. We think the public interest would be
better served by learning about the activities of this mayors' group -- how
it is financed, and whether it has misused public resources, for example.
"Bloomberg and his cronies already have a credibility problem,"
Gottlieb concluded. "They shouldn't compound things by trying to conceal
their activities from public scrutiny."
The Second Amendment Foundation (http://www.saf.org) is the nation's
oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal
action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately
own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, the Foundation has grown to more
than 600,000 members and supporters nationwide, and conducts many programs
designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation
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