How the Gun Lobby Beat Activists to the Draw

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Readers of the book "Toxic Sludge Is Good for You" may remember the name Mary Lou Sapone -- a corporate spy who, while secretly in the employ of U.S. Surgical, infiltrated animal rights groups. More recently, Sapone has been active with gun control groups, while secretly working for the National Rifle Association. As Mary McFate (her maiden name), she volunteered with numerous local and regional gun control groups, even running (unsuccessfully) in 2005 for a board position with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "In a 2003 deposition, Tim Ward, who had been president of the Maryland-based security firm Beckett Brown International, said that the NRA had been 'a client' of Sapone's," reports Mother Jones. "Recent emails indicate that in 2007 and 2008 Sapone was working" with a former NRA staffer who was lobbying on behalf of his old employer. Sapone's / McFate's friends in the gun control community were shocked to learn of her true identity. Sapone was "well-positioned for many years to provide the NRA -- or any other gun rights groups -- the plans, secrets, and inside gossip of practically the entire gun violence prevention movement." For example, Sapone pushed U.S. groups to take part in a United Nations meeting on gun control earlier this year. Their participation allowed Sapone "to learn what the anti-gun forces were planning for the UN session -- including the delegates they intended to lobby, and the arguments they would highlight."