Glad to see this story is getting some play. It's important for people to understand that the "agent" phenomenon is quite real. This woman penetrated the gun control movement at a very high level and she participated in and directed activities that were supposedly helping that movement.
(Ironically, this piece is co-written by David Corn, who many have speculated might be some sort of disinformation artist.)
There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/ma...
Mary McFate was a prominent gun control activist. Mary Lou Sapone was a freelance spy with an NRA connection. They are the same person. A Mother Jones investigation.
This is the story of two Marys. Both are in their early 60s, heavyset, with curly reddish hair. But for years they have worked on opposite ends of the same issues. Mary McFate is an advocate of environmental causes and a prominent activist within the gun control movement. For more than a decade, she volunteered for various gun violence prevention organizations, serving on the boards of anti-gun outfits, helping state groups coordinate their activities, lobbying in Washington for gun control legislation, and regularly attending strategy and organizing meetings.
At States United to Prevent Gun Violence, a nationwide coalition of anti-gun groups, she was the director of federal legislation, an unpaid position that placed her in charge of the outfit's lobbying efforts in Washington.
Though McFate's colleagues viewed her as a friend, some found it strange that they knew virtually nothing about her life outside the movement.
Though McFate's colleagues viewed her as a friend, some found it strange that they knew virtually nothing about her life outside the movement. She never explained the source of her personal wealth..."She never talked about what she had done prior to this work. I didn't even know if she had a husband or kids."
"I would find it hardest to believe this about her. She comes across as kind of dense—or she's putting on a good act."
"Whenever an issue comes up, she manages to get on the email list," Hohlt says.
Sapone appeared on the animal rights scene in 1986 and quickly became "involved in at least a half dozen animal rights groups." She "made a point of getting to know all of the key people in the movement," and "traveled around the country to most protests, meetings and conferences."
Sound familiar?