State Police Commissioner Works with Bloomberg
Yesterday afternoon, Michael Bloomberg’s Pennsylvania professional advocate Max Nacheman announced that State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski sent a letter to more than 100 current and former mayors of the NYC leader’s anti-gun coalition in support of gun control initiatives. The group of mayors against guns announcement appears as though they are merely reporting on Commissioner’s action. However, checking the State Police website shows no announcement about these political positions. This leads us to believe that Bloomberg’s staff had direct access to work with Colonel Pawlowski exclusively on this issue.
In the letter, Colonel Pawlowski actually takes the opposite position of other law enforcement associations. Gov. Ed Rendell’s appointee advocated for releasing sensitive trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to politicians and lawyers seeking to shut down gun manufacturers and local firearms dealers. The criminal trace data is widely available to law enforcement who are actively investigating weapons crimes. The BATFE has spent years arguing to keep the database confidential in order to protect the sensitive details of ongoing investigations and the lives of officers involved in criminal stings. Colonel Pawlowski would rather sacrifice these investigations and put federal officers at risk to serve Michael Bloomberg’s New York City agenda. In addition, the Fraternal Order of Police has condemned the release of such information.
But the officers in the field who are actually working illegal gun cases know that releasing sensitive information about pending cases can jeopardize the integrity of an investigation or even place the lives of undercover officers in danger. That is why the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has always supported language protecting firearm trace data, now known as the Tiahrt Amendment. For the men and women in uniform who are fighting illegal guns, it is a matter of officer safety and good police work.
The Pennsylvania State Police are already under fire for their own firearms policies. In August, photos and details were leaked from a private shooting session with NFL players with participants using evidence guns, potentially jeopardizing investigations and law enforcement. Making the situation even more controversial was the use of highly restricted police ammunition for this leisurely day at the range. Pennsylvania gun owners may be outraged by Colonel Pawlowski’s politicized actions on gun control, but as taxpayers, it would seem there are other questions we should be asking about the actions of the State Police.
The State Police Commissioner also praises the work of Bloomberg’s coalition in promoting local anti-gun ordinances. However, he does not note that these so-called “lost-and-stolen” ordinances are actually illegal in Pennsylvania, in violation of state preemption that even the state’s Supreme Court has upheld against municipalities that have tried to pass local gun control. It remains unclear why the state’s chief law enforcement officer would promote the violation of state laws by local politicians.
Perhaps one of the most interesting discoveries in the investigation of Colonel Pawlowski’s work with Bloomberg’s staff is just who is assigned to recruit Pennsylvania mayors into the coalition and defend the anti-gun leaders in the Commonwealth. Max Nacheman is cited as the Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coordinator, and his background is of interest to gun owners across the Keystone State and the nation.
Nacheman touts the standard argument that MAIG is not actually a gun control group. However, this analysis by pro-gun blogger Sebastian and his reader Carl indicates otherwise.
Let me show for you a graphic originally presented to me by our friend Carl in Chicago. It’s undisputed that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violent is a group that advocates for more gun control and advocates for gun bans. Let us take a look at MAIG’s positions versus the Brady Campaign positions:
Position on Federal Legislation MAIG Brady Prohibit National Carry Reciprocity x x Repeal Tiahrt Amendment x x Criminalize private gun transfers x x Prohibit gun sales to those on terrorist watch list x x Prohibit gun dealers to liquidate inventory x x Oppose BATFE modernization x x Position on State Legislation Require lost or stolen reporting x x Support regional data-sharing on gun owners x x Support microstamping requirements x x Prohibit carry on city-owned public property x x Click on the links on the “x” for attribution of the organizations respective positions. There is no doubt folks, MAIG is a gun control group trying to hide behind the shield of only advocating getting rid of illegal guns. They just fail to mention to their prospective mayors that they favor making a lot more things illegal when it comes to guns.
That seems awfully coincidental that the entire Bloomberg mayor’s group agenda is also supported by the anti-gun Brady Campaign. What is absolutely not coincidental is the connection that Max Nacheman brings between the two groups.
As Bloomberg’s representative for Pennsylvania, Nacheman is responsible for visiting towns and promoting the idea that they should pass illegal local gun ordinances. In May 2009, Max Nacheman spoke at the Lancaster City Council meeting in support of “lost-and-stolen” legislation and revealed the connection between Bloomberg’s group and the established gun control movement.
Max Nacheman, Philadelphia, stated that he represents a National Coalition of Mayors, of which Mayor Gray is a leader, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence.
That’s right, Nacheman admitted that in his position with MAIG, he is also representing Sarah Brady’s long established gun control group and that they both seek to accomplish the same agenda.
Before Nacheman began serving as a spokesman and organizer for both Michael Bloomberg and the Brady Campaign, he came to Pennsylvania as a student and eventually started working with the Hillary Clinton campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. Senator Clinton’s support of gun control is long established, though it is unclear if he ever worked specifically on the issue for her campaign. However, once Barack Obama secured the nomination, Nacheman appears to have stuck around the area to support anti-gun State Representative candidate Steve Rovner based on reported campaign expenditures. Rovner stuck out to Bucks County gun owners as one of the only candidates to embrace gun control group endorsements which he lined up after Max Nacheman started working with his campaign. Fortunately, not even Nacheman could save Rovner’s challenge to the incumbent.
Nacheman, interestingly, cites his address in the campaign reports as Bashing Ridge, New Jersey. Max would hardly be the first gun control advocate to cross the Delaware in order to blame Pennsylvania’s pro-gun culture for the crime and corruption of New Jersey and New York. Many gun owners in Eastern Pennsylvania have grown used to seeing CeaseFire New Jersey’s Bryan Miller in Philadelphia calling for more gun control. Perhaps the next time Max Nacheman comes over to advocate for illegal gun control ordinances, he can hitch a ride with Bryan Miller and offer to pick up the bridge tolls with Brady Campaign funds.
