Bloomberg champions anti-gun sheriff who denied carry permits for mere traffic fines.

Gun Owners of America is following the Bloomberg Tour of Lies across the country and blowing the cover off misstatements the “tour guides” are posting on the Internet. The Tour is named after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wants to impose radical restrictions upon Second Amendment rights.

While Bloomberg & Co. have been very careful to feign support for gun rights, they inadvertently made a huge “admission against interest” at a recent bus stop in Iowa -- telling the nation what gun right supporters have suspected all along.

“New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has exposed himself to the rest of the nation,” said GOA Communications Director Erich Pratt. “On Bloomberg’s very own website, they are championing an anti-gun sheriff for frivolously denying citizens their right to carry concealed.”

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek proudly explains (on tape) how under the old carry law in Iowa, he used to make it considerably difficult for citizens to get carry permits.

If some guy has racked up several driving offenses, then revoke his driver's license “In the past, if someone owed traffic fines even, I denied them,” said Pulkrabek. “I told them, ‘Go get their traffic fines [paid and] come back.’ I just felt compelled to do that.” He also rattled off a series of other non-violent, driving-related offenses that he would use to permanently deny people their right to bear arms as protected under the Second Amendment.

GOA’s Erich Pratt finds this unconscionable.

“Look, if some guy has racked up several driving offenses, then revoke his driver’s license, for goodness sake. But don’t take away his ability to defend himself and his family! We’re talking about a God-given right here,” Pratt said.

“Would Sheriff Pulkrabek also deny these bad drivers the right to vote … or their right to free speech … or any of their other rights? Why is it that bad drivers are only ‘bad enough’ to lose their gun rights, but nothing else?”

At issue was the recent change in Iowa law which took effect on January 1. Bloomberg & Co. are upset because authorities must now issue carry permits to those citizens who request them, as long as such citizens have not committed an offense which would disqualify them to own firearms under the law.

Gone is the type of discretion that gun haters have frequently used to keep guns out of good people’s hands. Consider just a few examples from around the country:

• Delaware: An octogenarian was denied the right to purchase a handgun in 2008 because she was too old … and, because she was a woman. According to State Police Superintendent Col. Thomas MacLeish, the sale to Alvina Vansickle was halted over concerns “based upon [her] age and gender.” Vansickle was denied, despite the fact that she did not even have a speeding ticket to her name.
• Oregon: Officials have used background checks to arbitrarily deny concealed carry licenses to law-abiding citizens -- based solely on one's political views. In one case, a permit holder had his license revoked because he was the editor of a pro-life newspaper.
• Nationwide: A General Accounting Office study in 1999 found that the Brady Law had erroneously denied firearms to thousands of applicants. In fact, over fifty percent of denials under the Brady Law were for administrative snafus, traffic violations, or reasons other than felony convictions.

People can follow the progress of GOA’s efforts to shine the light of truth on the Bloomberg Tour at: http://gunowners.org/bloombergtour.htm