NPR is headlining a break in the Republican ranks. Growing support for firearm control.
The New York Times reports increasing support in individual states for limits on guns, while Congress looks almost impossible for procedural as much as political reasons.
The reason for the disparity lies not just in the complicated, emotional politics of guns in America — there was fierce lobbying in opposition to Colorado’s new gun laws, and threats were even reported against some lawmakers who supported it — but also in the way that the Senate’s arcane rules make it so much harder to pass bills there than in the nation’s statehouses.
Even as gun control advocates grew optimistic Tuesday that they would be able to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened filibuster, it was evident that the Senate bill was unlikely to include many of the steps that President Obama initially called for after Adam Lanza killed 20 first graders and 6 educators in Newtown last December with a semiautomatic rifle and several 30-round magazines. ...
... Why has it been so much harder for Senate Democrats to pass gun bills than it was for Colorado Democrats? The answer lies in the unforgiving math of Senate procedure. Colorado’s most contentious new law, which banned magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition, passed its State Senate with 51 percent of the vote, and no Republican support. But because of the rules of the United States Senate, Democrats effectively need 60 percent of the vote to overcome the threat of filibusters and pass legislation there. ...NYT
According to the Washington Post, the Senate is trying...
The Senate is poised to begin the most wide-ranging and ambitious battle over gun control on Capitol Hill in 20 years, with a vote scheduled Thursday that would formally start the debate.
News of that vote was a boost for the Obama administration, which has lobbied hard for increased background checks on potential gun buyers and for new limits on assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines. All will face heavy opposition from the National Rifle Association and its Capitol Hill allies in both parties. ...WaPo
In fact, the NRA is up-close and omnipresent.
The Democratic-led Senate is expected to reject President Obama’s proposals to ban military-style assault rifles and to limit the size of high-capacity magazines. And even Obama’s proposals for expanded background checks could be watered down. The NRA is working on alternatives that could be introduced during a Senate debate. ...WaPo
There will be a news conference this morning to announce forward movement.
Sens. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa., said they would hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the details of the tentative deal, which was reached with the support of Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and could entice a significant number of other lawmakers to sign on. Schumer told reporters that some details still needed to be worked out but that “we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”
“Tomorrow we hope to finalize it,” Manchin said Tuesday night. A Toomey spokesman added, “Sens. Toomey and Manchin continue to work on final details, but they appear close to a deal.”
The plan is expected to stop short of language currently in the bill that would require background checks on nearly all gun sales, including between private parties. Instead, Toomey aides said, the proposal would require background checks for private sales at gun shows and on the Internet, two areas that are currently exempt. ...RollCall, h/t Political Wire
Harry Reid points to Joe Scarborough.
Reid filed a motion Tuesday evening, setting up a vote Thursday to proceed to the legislation. The Senate is expected to begin voting on amendments next week.
The Nevada Democrat on Tuesday twice invoked comments on gun control made by former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.
“Republicans are planning to filibuster a 92 percent issue … something that involves the massacre of 20 first-grade children,” Scarborough said Tuesday. “Is anyone awake in my party on the Hill?”
“We’re going to find out [the answer to that question],” Reid said. ...The Hill
