Since Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) massive gun control bill is going down in flames due to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) decision to stop it in its tracks, that didn't mean that the gun grab was over. In fact, that seems to have been all political theater. The real threat comes in Harry Reid's own S 649 bill, or as its innocuous title is referred to as Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013. It's anything but safe for communities, schools or freedom and has sweeping legislation that has the potential to destroy gun ownership in America. Because of its introduction last Thursday, it will probably be brought up immediately following the Easter recess.
The bill's summary says that it is "To ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale, and for other purposes."
According to Gun Owners of America:
We expected it to contain the Veterans Gun Ban, which would mean that you would sell, gift, or raffle a gun in America at the risk of a 15-year prison sentence because of something you didn't know about the veteran/buyer.
But, surprisingly to us, the Far Left has convinced Reid to include the original Schumer version of the Universal Registry Bill. This would ban private sales of firearms, unless purchasers first get the permission from the government. If Senators can pass this de facto registration bill, they will be well on the way to confiscation (see, for example, Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York, who has a gun owner registry and has called for gun confiscation). If this bill is passed, Senators will claim that they "broke the back" of gun owners in America.
The only "no compromise" Second Amendment organization also said that "anti-gun zealots have begun to use the 'ObamaCare Paradigm' to threaten, bribe, and coerce senators into submission on the most far-reaching aspects of gun control, including Feinstein's proposal to ban shotguns, rifles and handguns that millions of Americans legally own. So if the 'motion to proceed' to S. 649 is adopted with 60 votes, then Feinstein's ban could be passed in the Senate with only 50 votes (plus Biden)."
They also pointed out that reports are out that there may be an "unholy alliance" at work which has the potential to succeed in achieving a dangerous gun control compromise. Politico reports:
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and the National Rifle Association are quietly engaged in private talks on a proposal to broaden background checks on purchasers of firearms.
That the NRA is even talking with Manchin suggests there's at least some room for negotiation for the group – despite its public posture against tougher gun laws, several sources say.
And if successful, a Manchin-NRA deal could draw in enough Republicans and red-state Democrats to defeat an expected GOP filibuster of the overall gun control bill when it hits the floor next month.
Some of the problems with the NRA compromising on the Second Amendment are seen in a previous article by Felix Bronstein, but more recently by an NRA backed bill introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mark Begich (D-AK), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Mark Pryor (D-AR.) to expand the scope of mental health information submitted to the background check system used by gun sellers. That is a bad move for sure and is easing giving in to the gun control crowd by means of RINOs working with Democrats. As Publius Huldah has so clearly pointed out, any Federal legislation on arms and ammunition is unconstitutional and for an organization taking millions of Second Amendment supporters' money they should be defending that right completely, not compromising.
Michael E. Hammond writes, "Unless Harry Reid wants to invoke a 'special order' procedure which will be a disaster for him, he needs 60 votes to proceed to his gun control bill (S. 649) – votes which Reid does not have if the GOP holds firm. If Republicans hold the line, in fact, Reid probably doesn't even have 50 votes. And, for reasons which we can explain in a future memorandum, the 'special order' procedure could cause horrific problems for Reid."
"So with one vote, the GOP could kill all gun control," he continues. "And, as for those 'blue state' Republicans who are scared of the 'gun issue,' here's a question: Why would you not want to limit your exposure to one vote which can be framed around opposition to the unpopular Feinstein amendment, rather than have Reid subject you to 20 votes on a variety of 'gun issues' which he is crafting to make you easy to defeat? In other words, if you can kill all gun control with one vote, why would you not want to do that?"
Hammond goes on to list ten reasons Republicans should kill all gun control in one vote here. He concludes that "If they succeed, four things will happen: (1) Their package will be nothing but a platform for the next set of gun control demands. (2) Saturation media will be encouraged by their "victory" and, as a result, more copycat shootings will occur and more children will die. (3) Democrats will have a vigorous new component of their "ground game" and the most significant remaining pillar of the GOP "ground game" will be demoralized. (4) Obama will have an aura of invincibility which will make it more difficult to stop the rest of his agenda."
Our Senators need to get an earful from the American people regarding Reid's plan and the RINOs plan as well. You can do so quickly and efficiently with a prepared email by clicking here.