The Gun Owners of America says Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and other senators who voted to allow gun control bills to move forward “have given the President a key symbolic victory.”
Here’s more from their latest statement:
“The Senate’s dramatic filibuster-busting vote Thursday to move forward on a gun-safety bill is being cast as a historic breakthrough, testing the strength of the gun lobby and opening a door to the first major gun-control law since 1994. It means President Obama will get the votes on gun legislation he has been seeking since a shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn.” – USA Today, April 12, 2013
It’s not often that we agree with USA Today. But author, Gregory Korte, got it right in Friday’s column. The Senators who refused to cast a “no” vote on Thursday – and who refused to drive a stake through the heart of S. 649 – have given the President a key symbolic victory.True, the battle is not over yet and we still think we have a good chance to defeat this bill. The Senate will probably commence voting on gun issues this Tuesday – possibly Wednesday – and it could continue for several days. But if we do win, it’s no thanks to your Senator(s) who stabbed gun owners in the back.
Many, if not all, of the Senators who are listed below are saying that they voted to proceed to the gun control bill on Thursday, even though they oppose the contents of the bill. Huh?* Democrats who claim to be pro-gun but voted to proceed to gun control (S. 649) are Baucus (MT), Hagan (NC), Landrieu (LA), Heitkamp (ND), Johnson (SD), Reid (NV), Tester (MT) and Warner (VA).
What will it take for the gun control measures to pass the US Senate? Politico’s Playbook has this:
–THE POISON PILLS: “McConnell and other top Republicans … are trying to craft poison pill amendments that could sink the [gun] agreement. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is drafting an alternative gun bill that could peel away GOP support, and McConnell may attempt to force votes on allowing guns in federal buildings and national parks, or the creation of a national ‘concealed carry’ standard. The goal: force red-state Democrats up for reelection in 2014 to pressure Reid to pull the bill.”
–GUN MATH: “Reid will need 60 votes to advance the Manchin-Toomey plan, giving McConnell enormous leverage, especially since the majority leader can’t count on his entire caucus to support the bill. Several red-state Democrats, including Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana, are considered potential ‘no’ votes. Newly elected Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is also a swing vote.” http://politi.co/116msEV
The Heritage Foundation has this on a separate gun control proposal from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
And as for the facts, the proposals from Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) have major problems.
Addington, head of Heritage’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, lays out some of the dangers in Reid’s proposal:
•It effectively puts a new tax on selling or giving away a firearm.
•It could help criminals figure out where it is easiest to buy guns.
•It allows for the beginnings of a national gun registry.
•It makes a missing firearm a ticket to five years in prison.
On a lighter note, Saturday Night Live poked fun at the gun control proposal by Sen. Manchin and Sen. Toomey over the weekend. Click below to watch the segment.
What’s happening with various gun bills in the Montana Legislature? Gary Marbut with the Montana Shooting Sports Association sent this out over the weekend:
Yesterday (Friday) Governor Bullock vetoed HB 304, MSSA’s permitless carry (or repeal coat control) bill. No veto message available yet.
HB 240 (university authority – campus carry) will have a vote in the House on Monday about whether of not to concur with (bad) Senate amendments. We want the House to NOT concur with Senate amendments so HB will go to a conference committee to fix the bad Senate amendments.
HB 446 (fixing disorderly conduct – eliminating “discharging firearms” as a crime) has passed House and Senate and has been transmitted to the Governor. You should contact the Governor (444-3111 or governor@mt.gov) and ask him to support HB 446. HB 446 got a barely veto-proof majority in House and Senate, although Governor Bullock could veto it anyway just to force a veto override vote (he might win that if the Dems go into lock to protect the Governor). When you contact the Governor, you might mention that any law that is violated tens of thousands of times each year with no enforcement only breeds disrespect for the law. Plus, any law that depends entirely on selective enforcement for its administration is very bad public policy.
HB 459 (medical privacy for gun owners) has passed House and Senate and has been transmitted to the Governor. You should contact the Governor (444-3111 or governor@mt.gov) and ask him to support HB 459. HB 459 got a little stronger veto-proof majority in House and Senate. When you contact the Governor, you might say that you don’t want information about your gun ownership recorded in electronic medical files that are widely shared (New York just used widespread invasion of electronic medical files to identify gun owners and force them to disarm or suffer criminal penalties under NY’s new gun control laws).
House Resolution 5 (encouraging firearms manufacturers in states with oppressive gun laws to “Come to Montana”) has passed the House. It is a done deal.
Senate Resolution 34 (encouraging firearms manufacturers in states with oppressive gun laws to “Come to Montana”) has passed the Senate. It is a done deal.
SB 133 has been our stealth prohibited places bill. Originally, it was a bill intended to allow investigators for the public defender system to carry firearms. However, it was so poorly drafted that it actually made no effective change in Montana law at all. I informed the sponsor (Senator Rosendale) of this problem, but he chose to run with the bill as-was anyway. So, when it came to the House, it was amended to allow anyone with a CWP to use the CWP in one of the “prohibited places” in 45-8-328 (bars, banks and public buildings). The Senate did not concur with House amendments, so SB 133 has been assigned to a conference committee (three members from the Senate and three members from the House) to try to develop a bill that both the House and Senate can accept. Appointed from the Senate were Sen. Ripley, Chair; Sen. Rosendale and Sen Driscoll. Appointed from the House were Rep. Wagoner, Rep. J. Bennett, and Rep. MacDonald. Driscoll from the Senate and MacDonald from the House are both Democrats and both virulently anti-gun. However, they likely won’t matter. The fate of SB 133 will be in the hands of the four Republicans, Ripley and Rosendale from the Senate, and Wagoner and Bennett from the House. If you want SB 133 to come out of the conference committee in good form and you wish to contact these legislators, your message should be to leave SB 133 in its House-passed form.
HB 205, MSSA’s suppressor bill, is still languishing in the Senate, awaiting delayed Second Reading action. Senator Chas Vincent is carrying HB 205 in the Senate, and is trying to get senators and people from the Governor’s office to attend local shooting range exercises demonstrating just what suppressors do, and don’t do. The Legislature only has two weeks left, and I don’t know when HB 205 will move in the Senate. FWP has put out the word to ranchers that if HB 205 is passed, all of the ranchers’ livestock will be killed silently by criminal hunters with suppressed firearms and they won’t learn about that until they discover all the bodies in the pasture (FWP’s active disinformation campaign), so legislators from the ag community are leery about HB 205.
Walter Morris
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 9:50 AM
If the outrageous actions by the Democratic party weren’t so destructive, they would be laughable. Our country is facing total destruction due to the huge deficit we now face. I saw a fact that even shocked me. Does anybody realize that in the year 2000 the United states had a large surplus. How can we possibly blame the Republicans for having a surplus and now after being under Democratic control, we face a huge deficit, which is growing larger every day. The only action being currently taken by our leader is to make sure we have gun control. How does a nation allow the focus of our leaders to stray from the immenent disters at hand, debt, unemployment,threats from North Korea and many others and all that is happening is an all out effort to have gun control. I can’t see where that guns are causing all of our major problems, but the only thing on the administrations mind is to get gun control. Isn’t this a smoke screen to make us forget all the things destroying our once great country. Contrary to our leading lady, I once loved this country, but now I am ashamed to be a part of such a farce. Lets vote and cast out all the votes of the non citizens and the illegal immigrants. If they want to be citizens, let them earn it as all those immigrants before them that we kep hearing about. And don’t forget to vote in the next election and throw out those causing our downfall and Max is a good place to start.