Friends,

Thank all of you who called and sent e-mail about the Mayor's comments aired on Channel 8, WISH TV, on
December 17, 2008.  I was out of town and did not see the the broadcast.  However, I was able to
find it at http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/politics/Mayor_speaks_on_firearms_and_citys_future  As I
reviewed the foregoing, I was gratified by many of the well informed comments posted relative
to the article. One commentator indicated that all of his firearms were registered.  He apparantly
confused the instant background check with registration.  I also noted that the mayor identified
the idea as something he was only considering.  I expect he would also consider our input.

In order that our input be of value, we should review some information.  The organization with whom
he is considering aligning himself is http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org  More about this
organization may be found at http://www.nraila.org//Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?ID=2533

Recently, one of our visitors corresponded with Mayor Ballard regarding a program called Project
Exile http://www.nraila.org//Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=48  This article is old but it explains a
federal program that was successful in Virginia.  The mayor's staff is also considering this
approach.

In January 2007, I and several of the residents in his city corresponded with Mayor Brainard,
Carmel, IN, concerning his membership in Mayors Against Illegal Guns.  At that time, there were
three Indiana mayors who were members.  The mayors of South Bend and Fort Wayne were the other two.
Mayor Brainard reviewed the information he was provided and in June, 2007, was no longer listed
as a member.  At that time, one could find on http://www.bradycenter.org a link to the Mayors
Against Illegal Guns website.  That link has been removed.
is no longer there.

The mayors currently listed as members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns are:

Warsaw, IN - Earnest Wiggins (R)  
Linton, IN - Tom Jones (D)
Muncie, IN - Sharon McShurley (R) [Mayor McShurely is no longer a member]
Portland, IN - Bruce Hosier (R)
Columbus, IN - Fred Armstrong (R)
Fort Wayne, IN - Tom Henry (D)
South Bend, IN - Stephen Luecke (D)
Tell city, IN - Barbara Ewing (D)
Angola, IN - Dick Hickman (D)
Goshen, IN - Allan Kaufmann (D)

I believe it appropriate for we contact our mayors and, respectfully, request that they not
consider firearms registration but strict enforcement of existing laws.  By definition, only
law-abiding citizens would comply and they are not the problem.An example of a letter may be found
at http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/mayor.pdf

  


Chief Bob Lusk 
Dec 22, 2008 4:29 AM
Follow-up Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Friends,

I did a mail re subject.  I could not find, at that time, the link I remembered existed
between http://mayorsagainstillegalguns.org and http://www.bradycampaign.org

The Brady Bunch had taken down their link to the Mayors' bunch to preserve the mayors' bunch as a
non-partisan organization.

Someone once said, "you can run but you cannot hide."
However, http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=739 
may provide more information.

Ex-Mayor Helmke(R), Fort Wayne, IN, went away and became the head guy for the Mayors' Bunch.
http://bradycenter.org They are now taking great glee that the Indiana Supreme court has allowed
a lawsuit that violates both US and Indiana statute.

Let us not forget that Helmke was a charter member of Mayors Against Illegal guns.