Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) marking the three-year anniversary of the shooting of 20 first-graders at in Newton, Conn., with the families of the victims and other members of Congress from the state.
Once upon a time in America, the National Rifle Association (NRA) was the "face" and the "voice" on the "gun control" issue and the 2nd Amendment. The NRA knew best on the issue, so they said. Then along came Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL), who has become the counterbalance to the NRA. Kelly has become the "face" and the "voice" of "common sense gun reform," while the NRA is stuck in the mud on the issue, refusing to even consider universal background checks. Even if 90 percent of Americans agree.
The emergence of Kelly on the national scene is due to no small part to the efforts of Markos Moulitsas, the editor and founder of the Daily Kos, who on Feb. 1, 2013, endorsed Robin Kelly for Congress, to fill a vacant seat in the 2nd Illinois' Congressional district in a special election. Markos called it a "a proxy battle in the war for sane gun policy." Markos saw it as a "a very real chance to deal a blow to the NRA."
It did.
The NRA, and its affiliate in Illinois, recognize they are no longer the "face" and the "voice" on the issue, and are desperately trying to turn back the clock and regain its staus on being the "word" on guns.
In fact, the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) has sent out an "Urgent Alert" to its members, urging them to attend a "community forum" at a Quality Inn and Suites in Bradley, Illinois. The "community forum" is sponsored by the Kankakee Chamber of County Commerce and the Manteno Chamber of Commerce, with the expressed goal of offering a "free lunch with your colleagues and discuss how together, we can make our community stronger." The "community forum" moderator is Matt McBurnie, the executive director of Riverside HealthCare Foundation and the new chairman of the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce.
Other panelists include: Staci Wilken, Executive Director of the Manteno Chamber of Commerce; Mike O'Brien, Homestar Bank; Jess Gathing, Kankakee School District and Kankakee Track Club; Aundrea Loller, Nucor Steel; Mayor Bruce Adams- Village of Bradley, IL; and Tomika A. Talley-Smith-TCB Grocery Delivery Service.
Rep. Robin Kelly is also slated to attend the "community forum," and according to the event organizers, "will be on hand to share with us some brief introductory remarks."
From this simple posting on the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce website, the leadership at the ISRA concluded that Rep. Kelly would be delivering a major address on guns and that this was a "Gun Control Rally" of some sort.
From that the ISRA concluded in their "Urgent Alert" to its members the Rep. Kelly will "advance the nationwide passage of New York-style gun control. At the forum, Kelly will be advancing her vision of an America where private firearm ownership is an expensive and impractical rarity."
You read that right. This NRA-affiliate organization made up this story that an ordinary "Chamber of Commerce" meeting held in Kelly's southern most part of the 2nd Illinois' Congressional district, is in fact a "Gun Control Rally."
Kelly has caught the attention of the NRA's "Institute for Legislative Action" arm, the NRA-ILA. Last July, Kelly was attacked for introducing a bill to protect guns and weapons from children. You guessed it, the NRA opposes protecting children.
H.R. 5093–the Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act–to keep firearm-branded shirts, hats, and “stuffed animals” from being marketed to children.
The bill asks the Federal Trade Commission “to prohibit any person from marketing firearms to children,” which would include the marketing of merchandise containing firearm brand names.
According to the text of H.R. 5093, the Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act would also prohibit the “manufacturing of a gun with colors or designs that are specifically designed with the purpose to appeal to children.”
As we
reported here last week, the NRA-ILA also opposes another bill introduced by Kelly, H.R. 224. That bill, simply stated, would require the United States Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to submit to Congress an annual report on the effects of gun violence on public health.
The NRA has even resorted to name-calling, dubbing her "Assault Gun" Kelly. The NRA makes the outrageous claim that the bill has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with “public health.”
The timing of the ISRA protest of the "Chamber of Commerce" meeting is curious, since it coincides with a recent Roll Call piece in which Rep. Robin Kelly expressed an interest in running for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate in Illinois in 2016. The ISRA understands the stakes involved, should Rep. Kelly defeat Senator Mark Kirk. Winning back the "Barack Obama" seat would mean the Democrats would be one seat closer to regaining the majority in the U.S. Senate. Kelly is "exploring" a run for the United States Senate and is currently "doing her due diligence."
The ISRA has consistently mischaracterized Rep. Kelly's positions and proposed legislation, claiming among other things that she favors "Ammunition Registration." The ISRA also claims that Kelly favors "Gun confiscation prompted by angry family members or jilted lovers." Kelly favors keeping weapons out of the hands of those involved with domestic violence.
The ISRA says that even if you are told that the forum is “full,” plan to be there anyway. Adding "Gun owners must show up in large numbers to let Kelly know that we won’t be bullied into surrendering our rights." The ISRA encourages its members to "Pass this Alert on to your friends and family – tell them to show up at the “community forum” as well to protect the 2nd Amendment.
It is no longer just Robin Kelly that is the alternate "face" and "voice" to the NRA. The list is growing and so is the "common sense gun reform" movement. These groups now include Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign, the Educational Fund to End Gun Violence, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Americans for Responsible Solutions.
In the end, this is a typical Kankakee Chamber of Commerce meeting, and the so-called "gun control" issue is not on the agenda. At least not until this NRA-affiliate, the ISRA, put it there.