BELLEVUE, WA – Today’s endorsement of Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton by two major gun prohibition lobbying groups should come as no surprise, considering her highly-publicized attacks on the Second Amendment, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said in response.

As reported by the New York Times, Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt declared in a prepared statement, “Gun Sense Voters have a champion in Hillary Clinton. Our litmus test is simple: does a candidate side with the public or with the gun lobby? Hillary Clinton passes that test with flying colors.”

“It’s no surprise that the gun prohibition lobby has a litmus test based on erosion of the Second Amendment, and it is less of a surprise that Hillary Clinton passed it with flying colors,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “If there were any remaining doubts among American voters about Clinton’s intentions if she wins in November, these endorsements make it clear that she is determined to rip the right to keep and bear arms from the American fabric.”

Early last fall, Clinton was caught on audio at a private fund raiser declaring that “The Supreme Court was wrong on the Second Amendment.” Gottlieb said today’s endorsements by Everytown and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America – two organizations supported by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg – amount to “damning proof” that a Clinton presidency would pose a direct threat to the individual right to keep and bear arms.

“Today’s Washington Examiner noted that Clinton has promised to push gun control on her very first day in office,” Gottlieb noted. “That’s not a sign of leadership. It’s a symptom of fanaticism against a fundamental individual civil right.

“Throughout her public career,” he observed, “Hillary Clinton has never been a friend of gun owners, and today’s double endorsement merely confirms that she is their avowed enemy.”

BELLEVUE, WA – Gun owners responding to an online presidential preference poll conducted by the KeepAndBearArms.com website show an overwhelming preference for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump over prospective Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms reported today.

During the first week of polling, the lopsided response shows gun owners by a margin of almost 28-to-1 say they should vote for Trump (86.4%) rather than Clinton (3.1%). Meanwhile 10.5% of poll respondents think gun owners should vote for “another” candidate, but did not specifically say who. The survey will continue at the KeepAndBearArms.com website, which is jointly owned by CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation.

Voting is continuing at KeepAndBearArms.com.

“The most important conclusion to be drawn from the poll results so far,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “is that America’s gun owners understand the critical nature of this election and what is at stake if Clinton gains the presidency. She would be making cabinet appointments and nominating judges and Supreme Court justices, and there is every indication that none of her appointments would be friendly to the Second Amendment.”

Clinton was caught on audio at a private gathering last fall, stating that in her opinion “the Supreme Court was wrong on the Second Amendment.” She further stated that she would “make that case” every chance she gets.

“Instead of just making that case,” Gottlieb observed, “a ‘President Hillary Clinton’ would be able to make appointments to the Supreme Court that could undo the progress we’ve made over the past eight years. Since the 2008 Heller ruling, and the 2010 McDonald decision, we have been fighting unjust and unconstitutional gun laws across the country. From the first-week poll results, it appears gun owners realize that the Second Amendment is on the ballot in November.

“We recognize that many people are not sure about Trump,” he noted, “but they appear to be absolutely certain about Clinton, and in a very negative way. The poll results show how important it will be for every gun owner to be a registered voter this fall, and to cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 general election.”

BELLEVUE, WA – Pending legislation that would prohibit people whose names are placed on a “no-fly” list from purchasing firearms would result in a “civil rights nightmare,” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

CBS News reported this morning that Capitol Hill Democrats are calling for a vote on the legislation.

“Without proper protections for people to find out if they are put on the no fly list and a quick way to get off of it if wrongly put on it, we cannot support it,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “As currently written, it is a civil rights nightmare. It is an anti-Second Amendment bureaucrat’s dream come true. There are thousands of people wrongly on the no fly list that would lose their Second Amendment rights. President Obama and Hillary Clinton and the gun prohibition lobby that supports their anti-rights agenda cannot be trusted with this kind of power.”

Gottlieb recalled that the late Sen. Edward Kennedy was once stopped from boarding an airplane. Kennedy’s dilemma was quickly resolved, but that likely would not be the case for an average citizen who suddenly finds his or her name on the list, without knowing why or how to get their name removed.

“If lawmakers can come up with a proposal that includes an ironclad mechanism for swift resolution of mistakes,” Gottlieb said, “we would be willing to take a serious look at it. But it would have to zealously protect against civil rights violations, and there must be guarantees of due process, and the process should not cost honest citizens a penny.

“Nobody wants terrorists to get their hands on firearms,” he stressed. “If someone on a terror watch list tries to buy a firearm, it needs to trigger an immediate investigation by the FBI. Preventing such transactions is in everyone’s best interests, but playing politics with civil rights is not.”

Call Your U.S. Senators Today!

202-224-3121

We need your help NOW! As soon as today, the United States Senate is expected to consider the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill. A number of anti-gun U.S. Senators will be proposing amendments that will have an adverse impact on your rights as a law-abiding American.

We are all united in wanting to stop terrorism. We must, however, oppose efforts that will do nothing to stop terrorist acts, but that will advance old and previously defeated gun-control measures under a new label.

Call your Senators today at 202-224-3121 and urge them to oppose anti-gun amendments sponsored by Senators Feinstein, Schumer, Murphy and Booker.

Don’t let Congress pass anti-gun measures in wake of recent tragedy!

Your Action is Needed NOW!

We are all united in wanting to stop terrorism. We must, however, oppose efforts that will do nothing to stop terrorist acts, but that will advance old and previously defeated gun-control measures under a new label.

Call your Senators today at 202-224-3121 and urge them to oppose anti-gun amendments sponsored by Senators Feinstein, Schumer, Murphy and Booker.

What’s obvious is that many who want to destroy our firearm freedoms are using the terrorist attack in Orlando to push their anti-gun agenda.

But they’d rather blame you as a law-abiding gun owner than make Obama answer for his failures in the global war on terror. We can’t let them succeed in this depraved attempt to politicize a tragedy so they can destroy our freedoms.

Senators Schumer, Feinstein and other anti-gun elected officials are going to offer several anti-gun bills and amendments this week in the U.S. Congress, possibly as soon as today!

These measures are wide-ranging and include an attempt to reinstate the failed federal ban on semi-automatic firearms, commonly referred to as the “assault weapons ban.”

But it doesn’t stop there. In fact, one amendment will attempt to strip the Second Amendment Rights from those on secret government lists while another could lead to federal registration of all gun owners.

They’re also planning to push for increased federal funding of anti-gun research.

We must defeat every one of these anti-gun proposals.

We can’t let them succeed in this depraved attempt to politicize a tragedy so they can destroy our freedoms.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators immediately and let them know you oppose any new gun control measures. You can call your lawmakers at 202-225-3121

BELLEVUE, WA – While Capitol Hill Democrats staged a symbolic “sit-in” today in the House chambers to demand action on new gun restrictions, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said these lawmakers clearly define by their actions how far the party has strayed from the ideals of liberty their predecessors stood for.

“Democrats in the 1960s used sit-ins to expand Constitutional rights,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb recalled. “But today, they are using a sit-in to restrict those same civil rights.”

While Democrats professed to be interested in curbing gun-related violence, he said, their true motives are aimed more at eroding not only firearms rights, but the right of due process. Clearly, Gottlieb asserted, the sit-in is a carefully-choreographed attempt to fool the public into believing that it is right to pass legislation to strip someone of their rights without any criminal charge, much less a conviction, by placing them on a secret “watch list” without benefit of due process.

“Their party no longer represents the ideals of a free society,” Gottlieb said. “Democrats who are participating in this exhibition think they symbolize the frustration of American citizens. What they’re really symbolizing is the fact that they have been sitting down on the job rather than addressing the genuine threat of worldwide terrorism that has once again erupted in this country while Democrat Barack Obama sits in the Oval Office.

“Instead of demanding direct action against dangerous Islamic extremists,” he continued, “they’re distracting the public by pushing gun control measures that they know would not have prevented Orlando, Boston or San Bernardino. But it creates the deceptive impression that they are doing something, when in fact they are doing less than nothing by trying to penalize the wrong people.

“This is an insult to many of us that participated in sit-in demonstrations to extend civil rights a generation ago,” he added. “Many of us were armed to protect participants from the Ku Klux Klan and other bigots. We were also armed with the facts, something that today’s gun prohibitionists know little about. This demonstration is a disgrace, but today’s crop of Democrats don’t seem to care.”

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today condemned Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council for deciding to destroy used Seattle Police Department firearms in a symbolic effort to prevent so-called “gun violence” rather than sell those firearms, worth an estimated $30,000 annually.

“This is nothing new for Murray, whose gun prohibition credentials go back to his time in the State Senate, when he sponsored legislation to ban so-called ‘assault weapons’,” recalled CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “But one feature of that legislation would have allowed sheriff’s deputies to enter the homes of gun owners without a warrant to check on how their firearms were being stored. When reporters uncovered that requirement, Murray and his colleagues were so embarrassed that they pulled the bill.”

Murray, a liberal Democrat, could not provide any supporting evidence that any used firearms ever sold by Seattle Police were used in crimes in the city. Instead, he told a reporter, “You know, there’s just too many guns getting into the wrong hands.”

“Dodging the question with platitudes is typical of gun prohibitionists who can’t logically justify their actions, or reasonably explain their dislike of firearms,” Gottlieb observed. “Ed Murray is a gun-hating extremist who is using his political position to wage war against firearms and the people who own them. It is especially egregious because he knows this is not going to prevent a single crime.

“If Murray were in private business and he arbitrarily decided to destroy valuable property because of his personal prejudices,” Gottlieb added, “he would be fired on the spot. Being in public office hardly gives him the authority, much less the right, to send those guns to be melted down.

“Because of Mayor Murray’s willful disregard for public property,” he concluded, “we are today calling on the State Legislature to withhold funding in that amount from some city program. It is a public outrage that Murray and the City Council put symbolism over financial responsibility. With such an attitude, he does not belong in public office.”

BELLEVUE, WA – Traffic fatalities rose 7.7 percent last year and more than 35,000 people were killed, so why aren’t Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Congressional Democrats cracking down on car owners the way they do on gun owners, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms wants to know.

“Last year saw the highest number of people killed on the highways since 2008,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “On the other hand, FBI crime data shows a continuing decline in the number of gun-related homicides, yet Democrats insist on treating all gun owners like criminals.

“Anti-gunners say we should treat guns like cars,” he added, “but that might be a little dangerous, considering the increase in traffic fatalities. However, if we did treat guns like cars, people would be able to carry their guns in all 50 states, just like they drive their cars.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported Friday that last year’s preliminary estimate of traffic fatalities put the number of dead at 35,200. Even including suicides, which account for about two thirds of all firearms-related fatalities annually, fewer people die from gunshot wounds, yet Democrats and the president say guns are the problem.

“Maybe Democrats should push for background checks on anyone who wants to drive a car,” Gottlieb suggested. “The statistic doesn’t say how many people were killed by drivers who didn’t have a license, or were driving with suspended licenses, or were unlicensed illegal aliens.

“While Congress, Clinton and Obama want to ban sport-utility rifles,” he continued, “they are in no rush to ban sport-utility vehicles. Instead of limiting magazine capacity on firearms, maybe Congress should limit horsepower in automobile engines, and reduce the size of gas tanks.

“Based on this preliminary NHTSA data,” Gottlieb said, “owning a gun is a lot safer than driving a car. Instead of blaming gun owners for all the tragedy in life, Democrats – including Obama and Clinton – should be thanking us for being safe and responsible.”

BELLEVUE, WA — In the aftermath of Wednesday’s shooting of a legally armed citizen in the St. Paul, Minnesota suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop, the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms are calling for an independent investigation.

“Wednesday night’s shooting of Philando Castile is very troubling, especially to the firearms community, because he was a legally-armed private citizen who may have done nothing more than reach for his identification and carry permit,” said Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president. He also chairs the CCRKBA. “We have received calls of alarm today from many of our members across the country. They are justifiably concerned that a law-abiding citizen may have been wrongfully killed.”

Gottlieb has viewed a video that was reportedly broadcast live on Facebook in the aftermath by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds. She was in the car, along with her 4-year-old daughter and witnessed the shooting.

“America’s 13 million citizens who are licensed to carry deserve to know exactly what happened and why,” Gottlieb stated. “There are conflicting explanations, and only an independent investigation can hopefully reveal the truth.

“We understand that Gov. Mark Dayton has asked the White House for a federal investigation,” he added, “and we believe that either the Minnesota State Patrol, or an agency of equal stature from another state could also be invited to investigate.

“We are cognizant of the racial overtones arising from Mr. Castile’s death,” Gottlieb noted. “The concerns of our members, and honest gun owners everywhere, go even deeper. Exercising our right to bear arms should not translate to a death sentence over something so trivial as a traffic stop for a broken tail light, and we are going to watch this case with a magnifying glass.”

BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today extend their heartfelt sympathy to the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Area Rapid Transit and their families for their horrible losses Thursday night.

“The horrific events last night in Dallas should remind us all of the great sacrifices of our law enforcement professionals and their families,” said Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president. He also chairs the CCRKBA. “We mourn along with all Americans over the senselessness of Thursday night’s mayhem.”

“There can be no justification for this cowardly act, but we are confident there will be justice,” he said. “At the same time, we abhor any attempt to exploit this hateful crime, which appeared to target police, to press a political agenda that would penalize millions of law-abiding American citizens.

“Make no mistake,” Gottlieb stressed. “The person or persons who did this bear the sole responsibility. We are confident that authorities in Texas will bring the full force of existing law against anyone who was involved in this terrible attack.

“We applaud the calm demeanor of Dallas Police Chief David Brown, who earlier today shared some possible motives for last night’s deplorable crime,” Gottlieb concluded. “If this was some sort of hate crime, that hatred was unleashed against all Americans. We know there are deep divisions in America today. Murder is not the way to solve that, and neither is political exploitation.”

BELLEVUE, WA – The results of an annual survey of top law enforcement officials by the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) shows most of the nation’s top cops support the Second Amendment and concealed carry, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Results from the 28th annual NACOP survey appear in the current issue of The Chief of Police magazine. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said the survey results could give headaches to the gun prohibition lobby, especially on the subject of concealed carry.

“According to the survey results,” Gottlieb said, “more than 86 percent of the respondents support nationwide recognition of state-issued concealed carry permits and licenses. Likewise, almost 88 percent believe any vetted citizen should be able to buy a gun for sport or self-defense.

“Another revelation,” he added, “is that 76 percent of the respondents believe law-abiding armed citizens can help law enforcement reduce criminal activity. You can bet anti-gunners never saw that coming.”

NACOP is based in Florida, and reaches a broad cross section of professional command officers including police chiefs and sheriffs in every state, including large and small departments.

“The results of this survey should really surprise nobody,” Gottlieb said. “Law-abiding gun owners have traditionally been the strongest supporters of law enforcement, and we’ve known for decades that the overwhelming majority of police and sheriffs support the rights of honest citizens to own firearms for all kinds of uses.

“Of course,” he added, “gun prohibitionists never even acknowledge this sort of information because it does not fit their agenda or their narrative. We, on the other hand, believe the public has a right to know where law enforcement stands.”

BELLEVUE, WA – A Pennsylvania woman who would have been a delegate for Hillary Rodham Clinton at this week’s Democratic National Convention will instead be in court Tuesday to face charges of attempted murder in a case that suggests restrictive gun laws supported by Clinton have once again failed, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

The case involves former at-large Pennsylvania delegate Deanna Vicites. She was arrested after allegedly shooting and wounding her husband, Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Vicites more than a week ago. She resigned her post as a delegate last week. Another twist to the story is that she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary some years ago and is reportedly prohibited from possessing a firearm.

“If this case demonstrates anything,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “it would be that all the gun laws pushed by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats didn’t stop the suspect in this case from getting her hands on a gun. But instead of trying to keep everybody from having guns, maybe it’s just Hillary’s delegates who should be disarmed.

“However,” he observed, “just because you can’t trust people in your own party with guns doesn’t mean you can’t trust anybody with a gun. Clinton Democrats should not apply their standards to the entire population. Millions of responsible Americans own firearms. Of course, they’re probably not planning to vote for Hillary, because they’re as responsible with their votes as they are with their firearms.

“What’s really disappointing is that the national media has ignored this story,” he said. “If this had involved a Republican delegate right before last week’s GOP convention, you can bet it would have been front-page news.

“But the press, just as it appears with some DNC officials, are totally in the bag for Hillary and always have been,” Gottlieb stated. “It’s all about playing favorites.”

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today blasted two prominent Pacific Northwest gun prohibition lobbying groups for proposing legislation aimed at penalizing law-abiding gun owners for the crimes of racist cop killers and home-grown terrorists.

“The ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ proposed Wednesday by Washington Ceasefire and Ceasefire Oregon plays on public fear, and goes after the wrong people,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “But at least for the first time both groups are officially out of the closet as gun prohibition organizations. No longer can they hide behind the façade of ‘gun safety’ or even ‘gun control.’ They want to ban an entire class of firearms.”

Both Ceasefire groups released the results of a poll that reportedly only surveyed 310 adults across both Washington and Oregon, claiming that it is a representative sampling of Northwest residents.

“That’s a very limited polling base,” Gottlieb observed, “and they’re using it for fear mongering to pursue a gun ban agenda that will not prevent crime or stop domestic terrorists.”

He also noted that, according to the FBI crime statistics, rifles of any kind are used in only about two percent of all homicides in this country.

“Millions of law-abiding, honest citizens own modern sporting rifles,” Gottlieb said, “and they have harmed nobody. The firearms that gun prohibitionists want banned are used for hunting, competition, recreational shooting, home defense, predator control and many other lawful purposes. They are the most popular type of rifle in America today.

“It appears to us that the Ceasefire groups are campaigning against cosmetics and the basic black color of these guns,” he added. “This proposal is about flash rather than substance, and these organizations know it. They’re after trophy legislation, not any meaningful measure to stop criminals or terrorists. It’s a bad idea, penalizing the wrong people, while attempting to create and then exploit public fear.”

BELLEVUE, WA – When Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 convicted criminals Wednesday, there were some 50 people on that list whose offenses included either using or carrying a gun at the time, leading the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms to wonder why the president is softer on gun-packing criminals than he is on gun-owning honest citizens.

“Barack Obama has never missed an opportunity to exploit some tragedy in an effort to curtail legal gun ownership,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed. “But the other day he granted leniency to people who have actually committed crimes while armed. As many people have been led to suspect with his foreign policy decisions, his action on Wednesday leaves us convinced that he can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.

“Considering who he wants to have replacing him in January,” he continued, “that’s really not difficult to believe. But the fact remains that the president seems more worried about people who haven’t committed crimes with guns they legally own than people who have committed crimes while carrying guns they probably did not legally own.”

Noting that gun sales and concealed carry permit applications have skyrocketed while Obama has been in office, Gottlieb said one of the reasons is that the American public sees his policies as weak on crime, and not supportive of law enforcement.

“This president’s policies have weakened America both abroad and at home,” Gottlieb stated. “While he is obviously okay with leniency for convicted criminals, he’s been working overtime during his administration to make things tougher for people who haven’t been convicted of anything.

“If Obama really wants to leave office as a humanitarian,” Gottlieb said, “he should pardon all gun owners from his anti-gun executive orders.”

BELLEVUE, WA – The weekend arrest of two brothers now charged in the slaying of Nykea Aldridge is further evidence that gun rights aren’t the problem in Chicago, the system is, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“What we have learned about this case is an outrage,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “The suspects are brothers and both are known gang members and repeat offenders. One of them has been identified as a career gun offender who has been on parole since February. The other was on some sort of daily break from an electronic monitoring bracelet, and that guy has six prior felony arrests.

“Last month there were 65 homicides in Chicago,” he continued, “and it looks like this year’s body count could be way ahead of last year’s. It is painfully obvious that the system is broken in Chicago, the city is out of control, and proposing new gun control measures isn’t going to solve a thing.

“It is time for the good citizens of Chicago to recognize that their city is in chaos, and that those responsible are not just a bunch of thugs on the South and West sides, but the people who are supposed to be in charge at city hall,” Gottlieb stated. “This is what happens with decades of one party control. Their policies have failed, their strategies have failed and yet they are blind to all of it because they cannot admit those failures.

“Instead,” he observed, “they fight common sense at every turn. They let career criminals roam the streets, preying on and murdering innocent victims like Aldridge, while they do everything in their power to prevent law-abiding citizens from defending themselves.

“This nonsense must stop,” Gottlieb said. “Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his administration evidently can’t do the job, so maybe it’s time for him to step down, write his memoirs and open the door for a dramatic change in leadership. Emanuel and his predecessors have made a habit of blaming guns and gun rights for the city’s woes, but so long as recidivist thugs continually terrorize their neighborhoods, rhetoric about keeping guns out of the wrong hands is just political lip service.”

BELLEVUE, WA – The “mainstream press” is once again trying to spin away from positive coverage about armed citizens and the fallacy of so-called “gun-free zones” in its reports about the St. Cloud, Minnesota mall shooting and the hero shooter, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“There have been very few references to the fact that Jason Falconer owns and operates a private business in which he teaches firearms and self-defense skills to armed private citizens,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “He is a firearms instructor and competitive shooter, and his skill with firearms certainly paid off for the citizens of St. Cloud last Saturday.

“The media has made only passing reference to the fact that Mr. Falconer was out of his police jurisdiction, and off duty at the time of the shooting,” Gottlieb added. “In effect, he was essentially an armed citizen on a shopping trip to the mall who acted in defense of himself and others who were attacked by a dangerous man armed with a knife.”

Crossroads Center’s website lists a “code of conduct” that includes a prohibition on “firearms and illegal weapons.” Gottlieb said it was fortunate that Falconer was armed despite this prohibition, because having a gun stopped the carnage and may have saved lives.

“How many times must it be repeated before the public understands that ‘gun-free zones’ can be magnets for mayhem,” Gottlieb wondered. “It goes against all common sense that malls and other public venues would mandate disarming visitors, thus leaving them vulnerable to attack.

“It is disgraceful that the mainstream media has downplayed Falconer’s vocation,” Gottlieb observed, “focusing only on his part-time occupation, as if to conceal the fact that he is a devoted shooter, civilian instructor and active competitor. It’s a story they evidently don’t want to tell.”

BELLEVUE, WA — The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today expressed relief that a suspect in the horrible incident at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington is now in custody, and offers its heartfelt sympathy to the victims and their families for their painful loss.

“All of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest, including our members and supporters and more than a million law-abiding firearms owners certainly grieve for those directly affected by this inexplicable crime,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We will learn more about the suspect and his motives as the investigation continues.

“What has been reported, however, is that the suspect apparently had three firearms and that he used a .22-caliber Ruger rifle,” he continued. “These firearms were all legally purchased, but the suspect apparently stole all three from his father.

“Already,” Gottlieb observed, “the gun prohibition lobby is trying to exploit this tragedy via an e-mail message in which it vowed to end what it alleges is ‘an epidemic of gun violence tearing our communities apart.’

“Before the anti-gun rights lobbying organizations beg for one more penny to support their demonstrably-failed agenda,” he said, “they should explain just how they think one more gun control law might have prevented Friday’s mayhem. Two years ago, they pushed a poorly worded and ridiculously complicated background check measure into law. But it appears the suspect stole the gun he used, so how well did that work? Published reports say the suspect has a record that includes domestic violence charges and that a judge ordered him in December not to possess firearms.

“Exploiting this tragic event to press for more ineffective laws that simply erode the rights of honest citizens is dishonest,” Gottlieb said. “If these reports are accurate, this is proof that background checks don’t stop determined, violent individuals from committing crimes that affect us all.”

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called on Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Walker to step down from the bench after launching an anti-gun-rights tirade in court earlier this week in which he stated that firearms “are a scourge of this country and no one should have one as far as I’m concerned.”

“Judge Walker is entitled to his opinion,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “but he should not use the bench as a bully pulpit to attack a constitutionally-protected civil right. Just because he had to sentence a criminal to prison for brutally murdering another man in 2014 is no excuse for this kind of rhetoric.”

Judge Walker’s comments came as he sentenced Marcell Lee Daniel Jr. to 17 ½ years in prison for the June 30, 2014 slaying of 24-year-old Andrew Coggins, Jr. on a North Portland sidewalk. Gottlieb said Walker’s remarks seemed to blame the gun, not the man who committed the crime.

The judge declared that if he could, he would “take all the guns in America, put them on big barges and go dump them in the ocean.” And he did not stop there, according to the Portland Oregonian and a YouTube video. He also said, “There’s no defense to guns. There’s just absolutely no reason to have them. But it is a right of people in this country to own and possess them, and I will not say anything to affect that right.”

“But that’s exactly what he did do,” Gottlieb countered. “Judge Walker used his courtroom to campaign against a civil right he is sworn to uphold and defend as an officer of the court. His comments could easily be used by Oregon anti-gunners who are promising to push for a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ next year.

“Judge Walker is absolutely wrong about firearms,” he stated. “There are many good reasons for honest citizens to have guns, including self-defense against criminals like the man he just sent to prison. Indeed, law-abiding citizens don’t need any reason at all to exercise a civil right. Whether Judge Walker likes it or not, keeping and bearing arms is a right protected by the constitutions of both the State of Oregon and the United States.

“At the very least,” Gottlieb concluded, “Judge Walker should apologize for his remarks. If he cannot do that, he should step down. Such an extremist viewpoint is offensive and has no place on the bench.”

BELLEVUE, WA – This week’s endorsement of Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton by 17 gun prohibition lobbying groups amounts to a red flare warning to gun owners that their rights are on the line, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

On Tuesday, anti-gun-rights organizations officially threw their support behind Clinton. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said this “is literally a message carved in stone” for Second Amendment activists that a Clinton victory translates to a defeat for liberty and the right to keep and bear arms.

“Clinton has already been caught on audio stating that she thinks the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment,” Gottlieb recalled. “Now she is basking in the warm glow of the gun grabbers. Her campaign is signaling to American gun owners that if she wins the White House, their rights are going to be trampled.

“The time for division within the ranks of firearms owners is past,” he continued. “Gun owners need to vote, not just in the presidential race, but also to determine majorities in the House and Senate. This year’s election is truly for all the marbles. We’re talking about everything from right to carry to legal ownership of modern sporting rifles. The future direction of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts will be determined by who occupies the Oval Office and holds the U.S. Senate majority.

“There is no excuse for not voting,” Gottlieb said. “It’s not just a right, it’s a responsibility. Anti-gunners are already preparing to celebrate. They think they’ve got us. They think the Second Amendment is within their grasp and they’re eager to turn this right that protects all the other rights into a strictly-regulated government privilege.

“Everything that gun owners have fought for is on the line,” he observed, “and nothing made that more clear than Tuesday’s gun control endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Apathy is a luxury that gun owners cannot afford. Don’t let someone else, especially a gun prohibitionist, decide your future.”

BELLEVUE, WA – Following what the Chicago Tribune is calling the deadliest weekend so far this year, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today said the continued slaughter is proof that the city’s strict gun control laws are an abject failure.

At least 17 people died over the weekend, bringing the year’s death toll to at least 638 people. So far, more than 3,660 people have been shot in the Windy City, and two full months still remain.

“This continuing savagery in a city that stubbornly resists every attempt to reform its restrictive gun laws, which only discourage and disarm law-abiding citizens, is a testament to the failure of gun control,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.

Gottlieb noted that more than a year ago, a study by the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab revealed a truth about criminals and guns that seems to have been overlooked by officials who adhere to the city’s failed policies. That survey, taken among Cook County Jail inmates, revealed that they do not get their firearms from gun shows or Internet sales, and most definitely not from commercial firearms dealers.

“More than two-thirds of these offenders got their guns from family, friends or fellow gang members,” Gottlieb recalled. “These people can’t obtain guns via legal means, and the existing restrictions don’t prevent them from being armed. Criminals can’t get a Firearm Owner’s Identity Card, and they darn sure can’t get a concealed carry permit.

“Our sympathies go to the families of all the innocent victims of this carnage, and to the good citizens who must live in constant fear because gun control laws make it hard for them to have the tools to fight back,” he added. “Maybe it’s time for Chicago leaders to take a lesson from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke or Brevard County, Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey, or even Detroit Police Chief James Craig. They’ve encouraged their citizens to be legally armed as a deterrent to violent crime.

“Does Chicago want to curb the violence and empower its citizens to fight back,” Gottlieb challenged, “or does the city want to stay the present course? Haven’t enough people been sacrificed on the altar of gun control?”

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today said they will encourage President-elect Donald J. Trump to instruct his attorney general early in 2017 to name a special assistant whose job would be to protect Second Amendment rights.

“In the past,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “the Department of Justice has taken action against various other civil and constitutional rights abuses. It is time for the DOJ to prosecute violations of the Second Amendment and federal laws including the Firearms Owners Protection Act, by state and local governments. State and local governments that adopt laws designed specifically to infringe on the rights of honest firearms owners or discourage people from exercising their right to keep and bear arms for legitimate reasons, including self-defense should be held accountable.”

Gottlieb pointed to laws in New Jersey, Maryland, New York, California and even Washington, D.C. that require “good cause” to obtain concealed carry permits, or make obtaining a permit prohibitively expensive for average wage earners. He also said apparent violations of the Firearm Owners Protection Act, adopted more than 30 years ago, must be investigated

“It would also be the task of this special assistant AG to make sure the DOJ does not take anti-Second Amendment positions on any legal action,” Gottlieb added. “This individual would also serve as a liaison with gun rights organizations, working with them rather than against them to assure that the nation’s laws are used to prosecute criminals rather than persecute law-abiding gun owners.

“Donald Trump has been given an opportunity to right so many of the wrongs that have been committed against millions of citizens whose only crime has been a wish to exercise their constitutionally-delineated civil rights,” he said. “He campaigned on a pledge to make America great again. One part of that effort would be to make the Second Amendment great again.”