There’s one more irony here. One of the things Mayor Bloomberg is pushing for is the release of ATF “trace data.” New York City’s mayor says this information can show that a small number of “rogue dealers” are intentionally supplying criminals with massive numbers of firearms. The ATF has said that the “trace data” does not and cannot show that information, because a trace doesn’t mean that a firearm has been used in a crime. Despite that, Bloomberg wants that data in order to use it in civil cases against gun manufacturers and gun store owners. One of the statements of principle that Bloomberg’s allies (including Frank Melton) had to sign at the gun summit was a pledge to fight for the release of this information.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to point out that Melton has publicly said he will not release any crime statistics for Jackson. Why would the mayor push for the release of sensitive law enforcement documents while saying the public doesn’t have a right to know how bad (or good) the local crime rate might be? Columnists and pundits in Jackson have been calling on the mayor to release these crime figures for months, yet the closest the mayor has come to doing so is to give the figures to a non-profit he used to head. The non-profit group says it will “audit” the crime stats and release them to the public sometime this summer.
Mayor Melton seems to be suffering from an increasingly common malady I call “Nagin’s Disease.” Its chief symptom is the delusion that being mayor is akin to being a Supreme Leader. In fact, earlier this month Melton declared “I am the final authority” in Jackson. Not quite, Mr. Mayor. The last time I checked, you still have to follow the Constitution and laws of the land.