Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
This bill passed the House and has been sitting in the Senate for about 6 months now.
Seems likely it is just one of those bills that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (aka Moscow Mitch) just won’t let reach the floor for debate. (For an example see Why does “Moscow Mitch” oppose election security ????).
Continue reading “H.R.8 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019”
Once again, Republicans take a stand against sensible gun laws.
Previously this stance against was taken against a proposed sensible gun law which proposed closing the gun show loophole so buyers cannot evade background checks by buying a gun shows or online.
Just last month, the Senate defeated an amendment to a bill which would similarly close this loophole.
This week the President is suggesting an executive order which would do much the same thing. Republicans are again opposed. Perhaps not all but a number of politicians have spoken.
I get a weekly newsletter from U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). I don’t often agree with Senator Toomey but I try to keep informed and listen to both sides of the issue. I also occasionally share my opinions with him and I’m sure he is grateful.
In last week’s newsletter he highlighted his stance for expanding gun background checks (see Senator Toomey and a sensible gun law). But he did not mention another gun-related vote on the same day. Funny, Senator Toomey didn’t mention that. Both items were proposed amendments to H.R. 3762 (Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015). Continue reading “Funny, Senator Toomey didn’t mention that”
The state of Pennsylvania not only forbids local governments from regulating guns but went beyond that with a new NRA-supported law allowing the allowing the NRA and other organizations members with living in Pennsylvania or actual residents of the Commonwealth to sue the municipality for not only injunction to stop the law but for any actual or punitive financial damages they feel are warranted.
For example, Philadelphia and many other communities require the reporting of lost and stolen firearms. Since our state government will not act against making of “straw” purchases, many municipalities have. Both are important tools to fight gun trafficking without interfering with the possession of guns by ordinary citizens. Continue reading “Regulating Guns in Pennsylvania”
“I don’t consider criminal background checks to be gun control, I consider them to be common sense.”
These are the words of Senator Pat Tommey before the Senate decided not to require background checks at gun shows.
It has been almost month now since most Republican Senators and some Democrats opposed this commonsense measure despite overwhelming public support and I’m glad to see that Mayors Against Illegal Guns is running ads to remind voters about this.
I have previously written about gun background checks and why more gun purchases should be subject to these checks. And one of the arguments against them is that they are not perfect.
Which is certainly true. But in my opinion we need to work on both improving the background check system and eliminating the large exemptions from background checks for internet sales and gun shows.
According to several articles I’ve seen and NPR is quote below you can pass the background if your name is on the national terrorism watch list.
Under current laws, if a background check reveals that your name is on the national terrorism watch list, you’re still free to walk out of a gun dealership with a firearm in your hands — as long as you don’t have a criminal or mental health record.
Data from the Government Accountability Office show that between 2004 and 2010, people on terrorism watch lists tried to buy guns and explosives more than 1,400 times. They succeeded in more than 90 percent of those cases, or 1,321 times.
Why do we make it easy for the bad guys?
But the NPR story does go on to give several reasons why this is so. And many of them make sense and might be good reasons. Some seem somewhat less than convincing to me. But shouldn’t this at least raise a red flag somewhere in the system. Maybe it does. I don’t know.
For those who would like more information on the background check system here is the FBI Fact sheet on National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and a recent Washington Post Fact Check on a recent statement suggesting that background checks are not very useful.
Sensible gun laws lose to politics.
A proposed amendment sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) would have closed some of the loopholes in the background checks for gun purchases. Specifically, it addressed sales at gun shows and sales over the internet which are now exempt from background checks.
In the words of Senator Toomey:
“I don’t consider criminal background checks to be gun control, I consider them to be common sense.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) opposed this legislation. In my opinion, if we have background checks to prevent criminals from buying guns, it makes no sense to have these exemptions which enable criminals to easily avoid these checks.
Almost all Republicans voted against this commonsense measure but Republican Senators John McCain (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.) voted in favor. These courageous Senators defied both their party and the NRA. Their courage should be applauded.
Last week I was amazed that 13 Senators would oppose this commonsense measure. Now we know the numbers is larger than that.
I don’t think they did so to make life easier for the bad guys, but that is what they did.