I have made no secret (here, here, and here, for example) of my opposition to H.R. 2640, the Carolyn McCarthy/NRA Gun Control Act of 2007 (not the official name, of course, but accurate nonetheless, I submit).
After its effortless passage in the House, I assumed that the Senate would be similarly eager to add to the list of people stripped of their Constitutional rights--but I seem to have forgotten the possibility that Senate Democrats could be so bogged down by their egos, turf wars, and general dysfunctionality, that they might run the risk of being unable to pass it.
It was a rare political alliance between the National Rifle Association and its foes on the left, who together seized the moment to try to make federal background checks on gun purchasers more effective. But with students back on campus the Democratic-controlled Senate has yet to act, and the bill is in jeopardy.Don't you just hate it, Paul, when you try to exploit public grief and outrage while its still fresh, and it doesn't work out for you?
"I'm getting anxious," says Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence. "I get concerned that the longer we are away from Virginia Tech, folks are going to ignore the problem."
It turns out that an old feud between Senator Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Kennedy (D-
Party leaders are dismayed, and a top Democrat predicts: "That bill is going nowhere."It is, of course, way too early to celebrate. Perennial enemy of freedom Senator Chucky Schumer (D-NY), for example, is apparently planning another strategy to attack our rights.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) will be reluctant to devote floor time to a messy fight.
Still, it's fun to watch 'em squabble like spoiled 6-year-olds, and if it does fail, listening to Helmke, Sugarmann, and their ilk wailing about it would be about as much fun as one can have in public without risking arrest for public indecency.
Stumble it!
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