Tag: John Sigler
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 18, 2013
For all intents and purposes, it’s a one-bill day in Dover. This bill. Can Dover legislators do what Washington legislators could or would not do? HB 35 would require criminal background checks for virtually all gun purchases in Delaware. The NRA, embodied and emboldened by its pigeon-killing mouthpiece, have whittled away at the bill, and still oppose it.
Not a single R senator is on the bill as a sponsor. Which raises the question. Will they stand with the overwhelming majority of the people of Delaware, or will they march in lockstep with the leader that they have chosen to lead the Delaware Rethuglican Party?
Exclusive Video: John Sigler Flees Questioner Regarding His Pigeon-Maiming
The Brave Man did this after rousing the faithful today at a Legislative Hall anti-gun control rally:
General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Marriage equality is on the fast track.
How fast? HB 75 (Smith) was introduced last week while the General Assembly was out of session, and will be considered in the House (House) Administration Committee this Wednesday, 2:30 pm, House Chamber. It is at least possible that the full House could consider the bill as early as this Thursday. For those of you who have not yet checked, here are the sponsors and co-sponsors of HB 75:
Prime Sponsor: M. Smith; Additional Sponsors: Rep. Schwartzkopf & Rep. Longhurst & Sen. Sokola & Sen. Blevins; Co-Sponsors: Reps. Barbieri, Baumbach, Bolden, Brady, Heffernan, Keeley, Kowalko, Mulrooney, Osienski, B. Short, Viola, D.E. Williams, K. Williams; Sens. Henry, McDowell, Peterson, Poore, Townsend.
Thanks to each and every one of you. By my count, there are sixteen House members as sponsors. 21 votes are needed for passage. I know, or at least suspect, that there are silent commits from some below the Canal. However, there are a few notable absences, and I would encourage you to contact them if you are one of their constituents:
Charles Potter, 1st RD: He has been a strong advocate for civil liberties, there are many marriage equality supporters in his north Wilmington district, but he has not yet taken a position;
Deborah Hudson, 12th RD: She has generally been a moderate on social issues and, again, there are many marriage equality proponents in her Chateau Country district;
John Mitchell, 13th RD: He was ‘almost’ Speaker, and he could wind up there someday…if he does the right thing;
James ‘J. J.’ Johnson, 16th RD: He represents part of the City of Wilmington and has an overwhelmingly D majority district;
Mike Ramone, 21st RD: It’s possible that Ramone has already announced his support, as he has increasingly cast more and more progressive votes;
Joe Miro, 22nd RD: This Pike Creek R has lots of marriage equality proponents in his district.
Keep in mind that each of these representatives could well be ‘gettable’ on this vote. When you contact them, be positive. Encourage them to support HB 75. If they commit to supporting the bill, thank them and let them know that you have their backs. With some of the potential ‘silent’ commits, HB 75 has a great chance to pass the House, perhaps with a strong mandate.
John Sigler: Lawbreaker? Probably…Creep? Certainly
What if we told you that Delaware’s (and one of the nation’s) most prominent advocates for ‘law abiding citizens’ may well be both a lawbreaker and an inhumane killer? And what if I told you that this upstanding citizen is the head of the Delaware Republican Party?
Ladies and gentlemen, Delaware’s Mr. NRA #1, John Sigler….
NRA Chooses Greg Lavelle and Ernie Lopez to Scuttle Criminal Background Checks.
Any doubts that the Delaware Republican Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association should now be laid to rest. Former NRA Executive Director (and State Rethug Chair) John Sigler has anointed his serial bloviator and vice-chair Sen. Greg Lavelle as the person best-suited to kill mandatory criminal background checks on firearms transactions. With an assist from self-styled ‘moderate’ Sen. Ernie Lopez.
Lavelle’s tortured explanation as to what his newly-proposed legislation would do goes like this. According to the News-Journal quote, his bill:
“…doesn’t mandate background checks. It doesn’t create a registration. It allows people to make smart decisions for themselves.“
Great. Because people always make smart decisions for themselves. Especially when it comes to deadly weapons that they’re unloading for cash. And, if they don’t, they could be in trouble once the bodies are scraped off the bloody sidewalk.
Lavelle’s attempt to scuttle criminal background checks would make ‘it a crime to sell a firearm to someone prohibited from possessing guns’. Got that? It would be up to the seller to conduct a criminal background check on a prospective purchaser. (Or, perhaps, to look soulfully into their eyes.) Except, of course, any seller would not have access to any sort of data base. And Ernie Lopez, marching in lockstep, has proposed a bill to increase penalties for those who ‘knowingly’ sell firearms to someone prohibited.
Even by NRA standards, this is pathetic. Without background checks, the gun sales addressed by HB 35 would be ‘unaddressed’ by the Lavelle and Lopez proposals. After all, under their proposals, ignorance is a deliberate defense. ‘I didn’t know that this guy was a three-time loser.’ All righty then.
Let’s call this for what it is: An attempt to muddy the waters just enough to deep-six common-sense legislation.
It’s up to you to let your legislators know that you will not stand for this.
And for you Brandywine Hundred/Greenville denizens who supported Greg Lavelle and, for that matter, Ernesto Lopez last time? They’re both up for reelection in 2014.
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