Minneapolis, Minn. Mayor and Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman J.T. Rybak supports President Obama’s call for Congress to stand up to the powerful National Rifle Association when it comes to new gun control measures. “I don’t care what the NRA thinks, I care how to stop this.” Rybak tells Jansing & Co. “The NRA isn’t the center of this debate. And too often in Washington, that’s how it’s done.”
Rybak is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in 2006. And after seven years of fighting for what he calls common sense gun measures, Rybak says he thinks something will finally be done. “Now is the time. We’ve finally got some wind in our sails for all the most horrible of reasons.”
Rybak says mayors are ready to take on the gun manufacturers if they try to block some of these new proposals. “Do the gun manufacturers want to take on the mayors of America? Ok. Guess who buys a whole lot of guns? Police forces. So if you want to have that kind of battle, let’s have it.”
Rybak says he’s also looking beyond new gun restrictions. “We’re feeding our children an obscene diet of violence. I’m going to step up and talk about movies and video games that are unconscionably violent.”
John Wilson