[url]http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment081701a.shtml[/url]

National Review article:                              

Dems for the IRA
                              Rep. McCarthy opposes the Second Amendment, defends the IRA.

                              By Jaime Sneider,    
                               n recent months, a resolution
                              has been put forward in the
                              House to honor the memory of
                              the IRA terrorists who died
                              during a 1981 hunger strike.
                              Among the bill's Democratic cosponsors, Rep. Carolyn
                              McCarthy of New York deserves to be singled out.
                              Somehow, in spite of her support for rigid gun-control
                              measures, McCarthy has decided to ally herself with the IRA.

                              McCarthy entered the political scene following the murder of
                              her husband, who was shot to death by a crazed killer on a
                              commuter train on December 7, 1993. By her own account,
                              she "turned the incident into a public campaign against gun
                              violence" — and eventually, a run for office.

                              As a member of Congress, she has been ruthless in her
                              pursuance of gun-control measures. Last month, she issued a
                              statement against gutting the ineffective Housing and Urban
                              Development Agency gun buy-back program — even though
                              such payouts are known to rarely, if ever, involve illegally
                              owned firearms. McCarthy is also a firm supporter of trigger
                              locks (which under many circumstances do more harm than
                              good) and of "smart" gun technology (which has failed trial
                              after trial). In fact, since the beginning of the year,
                              McCarthy's office has issued no fewer than 12 press releases
                              endorsing further gun-control measures.

                              And yet, despite her tireless efforts to make guns harder to
                              obtain for the law-abiding, she nevertheless does not take
                              issue with the hunger strikers — among them Bobby Sand,
                              who was convicted on two different occasions of illegal
                              possession of firearms, and who was linked to a 1976
                              bombing of a furniture company.

                              Another hunger striker, Francis Hughes, was convicted of
                              murder. (Hoping he had killed two soldiers, he anxiously
                              asked his first visitor in prison: "How many did I get?")
                              According to a website commemorating the hunger strike, "It
                              is believed that somewhere between 20-30 British soldiers
                              and police officers died at [Hughes's] hand."

[b]Continued[/b]


One skeptic of the hunger strike is Dr. Joseph Morrison
                              Skelly, a New York-based academic who has written several
                              books on Irish history and politics. Skelly has pointed out that
                              "[The] deaths were in reality acts of suicide that violated the
                              most sacred principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition."

                              Only recently, the IRA withdrew from proposed disarmament
                              plans. Three members were reportedly just arrested in
                              Colombia, for trading arms with rebel paramilitaries. Reports
                              like these would seem to suggest that the IRA is not in fact
                              abiding by the cease-fire agreement, as it has purported to for
                              the last four years.

                              The IRA are believed to have in their possession hundreds of
                              firearms imported from Libya. And there was, of course, that
                              pesky run-in with the law in July 1999, when three IRA
                              agents were caught exporting guns illegally - by way of the
                              U.S. postal system. A fax to a gun dealer from two of the
                              criminals expressed interest in purchasing "anything silenced,
                              small and concealable" (sic), "any full-auto SMG… the
                              smaller the better," and an "H&K MP5 Auto in briefcase."

                              The IRA also engage in vigilantism, including what they call
                              "punishment beatings." The Royal Ulster Constabulary,
                              charged with policing Northern Ireland, reports that violent
                              acts like these have continued since the "cease-fire." In the
                              absence of guns, perpetrators have turned to substitute
                              weapons including "bats, pick axe handles (some studded
                              with nails) or iron bars."

                              In fact, until 1999, the State Department included the IRA in
                              its list of terrorists. Their sudden removal was addressed in a
                              list of frequently asked questions: Ignoring evidence of
                              repeated violations, "the Secretary of State took note of the
                              IRA's unequivocal cease-fire," while making note of "a strong
                              body of evidence documenting historic IRA involvement in
                              terrorist activity."

                              McCarthy and her peers need to explain their peculiar
                              decision to ally with a criminal gang. Of course, everyone -
                              whether for gun rights or against them - ought to condemn
                              the IRA's paramilitary tactics. But one might have expected
                              that Democrats, who are generally eager to eliminate
                              firearms, would be especially sensitive to the loss of innocent
                              lives.

Just playing devil's advocate but, it could be argued that the IRA are just freedom fighters. Albeit , their methods leave something to be desired. In no way do I support this woman's hipocrasy.BP

McCarthy is an idiot.  She represents a wealthy Long Island district, yet she is pro-tax.  Her votes have cost her constituents hundreds of millions in excess taxes.

I envy her husband, he doesn't have to live with that ovarian wonder anymore.

GunLvr

Let me see if I got it straight,
FOR gun-conrol, but FOR the IRA? (shakes head and shrugs). And this person holds an office, it's all clear to me now.