Speech police: Bloomberg bunch pressures Facebook and Instagram to ban discussions about gun sales on social sites

It isn't just your Second Amendment rights billionaire Michael Bloomberg is after - it's your First Amendment rights as well.

Forbes.com is reporting that Bloomberg's Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns are seeking to put pressure on Facebook to prohibit discussions about the legal sale or trade of guns between individuals on its platforms.

From the article:

“Facebook and Instagram are enabling people to sell weapons, often with no questions asked and no background checks required,” said Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ spokesperson Erika Soto Lamb.

Lamb cited a recent sting operation in Storm Lake, Iowa, where a convicted felon tried to exchange an assault rifle for a handgun via Facebook. In this case, the gun dealer was an undercover officer, and the 21-year-old felon was arrested and jailed.

“This police department shed light on how easy it is for someone who is prohibited from owning a gun to procure one using social media,” she said.

Lamb added that Facebook and Instagram would be joining fellow online platforms eBay, Craigslist and Google+, all of which have banned the buying, selling or trading of firearms without background checks.

Legal representatives from both gun control groups have to date held a number of conference calls with Facebook’s legal team. “We’re seeing how we can work together,” she said. “They’re listening to us.”

According to the article, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed these recent discussions, adding that their lawyers have always made a point of meeting with groups concerned about issues including hate speech and the representation of women on the site.

MAIG has had little success when it launched attacks on other corporations. An effort to get Starbucks to make its stores "gun free" zones succeeded only in getting Starbucks to politely request (but not require) that its patrons not open carry. A similar effort to get Staples to make its stores "gun free" has also been unsuccessful.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, and BFA PAC Vice Chairman.