She's Better on Guns, But NY House Dems Hassle Gillibrand Anyway
In a weirdly non-collegial display among New York legislators of the same party, House members Carolyn McCarthy, Carolyn Maloney and Steve Israel took time out of their presentation to reporters of their "No Fly, No Buy" bill to hassle new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "I don't know what she stands for," said McCarthy. "Basically, throw up an issue, and she has changed her opinion on it." Maloney said she would support McCarthy if she challenged Gillibrand. Israel said he might challenge her himself.
Gillibrand, an NRA-approved candidate back in her Congressional days, has under the advisement of Chuck Schumer been softpedaling the gun stuff lately. She even voted no on a bill to allow citizens to carry loaded guns in national parks.
What makes the flare-up of animosity even weirder is that Gillibrand is scheduled to introduce the Senate version of an anti-assault-weapons bill that McCarthy is introducing in the House.
So why'd they do it? Maybe to remind voters that they were there first. Gillibrand's poll numbers are weak despite her best efforts, and her would-be Senate nomination rivals might like to keep it that way.
As for "No Fly, No Buy," it's a nannying measure that aims to keep people who are on the TSA's no-fly list from buying guns, even though that list is hilariously unreliable and, it could be argued, compounds one civil rights outrage with another.
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