Mission statement:

Armed and Safe is a gun rights advocacy blog, with the mission of debunking the "logic" of the enemies of the Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms.

I can be reached at 45superman@gmail.com.You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/45superman.

Friday, September 21, 2007

H.R. 2640 in trouble (doomed by Democratic infighting)?

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.

"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."
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?

It turns out that an old feud between Senator Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Kennedy (D-Chappaquiddick MA) has some Congressional observers wondering if the bill can be passed this year.
Party leaders are dismayed, and a top Democrat predicts: "That bill is going nowhere."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) will be reluctant to devote floor time to a messy fight.
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.

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.

0 comments: