Thursday, August 16, 2007
News Bloomberg scores hit in gun war
Posted by John F. Sugg on Thu, Aug 16, 2007 at 8:10 PM
So, should Georgia gun dealers be the targets of sting operations and lawsuits by New York City? Lawyers working for the Big Apple's mayor (and possible independent presidential wannabe), Michael Bloomberg, have sued 27 gun shops in other states -- primarily Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. For the full background, see the article I wrote last month.
The gun dealers are fighting back on two fronts:
- Challenging whether New York has "jurisdiction" to pursue civil lawsuits against legitimate businesses in other states.
- And filing their own countersuits charging, among other things, that Bloomberg and his aides have committed libel and slander. One Smyrna store, Adventure Outdoors, is seeking $400 million in damages from New York.
Bloomberg won one round this week. A federal judge in Brooklyn, Jack Weinstein, ruled that "there are a significant number of traces linked to criminal investigations in New York that are attributable to the defendants' conduct; and that defendants' distribution practices have a substantial effect on crime in New York." In English, what the judge was saying was that the original sale of guns used in crimes could be traced to gun dealers. The judge stated that it could be inferred that the original sales were illegal.
Bloomberg, in a statement, applauded Weinstein's decision, saying: "Today’s decision affirms that New York’s Courts do indeed have jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit against out of state gun dealers whose guns most often end up in the hands of criminals. And it shows that cities can hold those who cause harm to innocent people and the police who protect us accountable."
As CL reported, one of the Georgia dealers who was sued, Adventure Outdoors owner Jay Wallace, has sold about 94,000 guns over the last three decades. Twenty-one of those guns could be traced to crimes in New York. But, as yet, there has been no proof offered by New York that any of those 21 guns was sold illegally. Moreover, Bloomberg's star witness, Tanya Nooner, the private detective who last attempted to sting Wallace by making an illegal purchase, was shot to death in a domestic dispute.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gets it wrong, or at least makes an incorrect insinuation, in a story today. The article states: "Weinstein noted that between 1995 and 2005 there were at least eight federal prosecutions for illegal purchases in which Adventure Outdoors was the source of the guns." Adventure Outdoors hasn't been prosecuted for making illegal sales. Individuals attempting to make illegal purchases have been nailed, often with Wallace assisting authorities.
"Most of those cases, the ATF (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) wouldn't have made if we hadn't tipped them off," Wallace says, explaining that when someone has tried to illegally purchase a gun -- say, a person using false ID -- Wallace notifies the ATF, which then arrests the culprit after the sale is made.
"I'm being hung by my own good works," Wallace says.
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