OK, there’s not much we know about this bill right now. It’s sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee and it’s so new that the usual suspects don’t have the full text available yet. But there are already signs that this thing might just be a publicity stunt that will die a death by a thousand cuts as Republicans attach amendment after amendment until it’s too dirty for anyone to vote for . . .
From The Hill:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday pledged to hold an open amendment vote on a major gun reform bill — a move that could trim the scope of the expansive measures being sought by liberal Democrats and gun-control groups.
The decision could significantly increase a bill’s chances of passage, granting centrist senators on both sides of the aisle more leeway to vote safely on specific aspects of gun control that could otherwise haunt them at the polls in 2014.
This is the same thing that happened to the national reciprocity bill, where the amendments simply made it impossible to vote for by anyone.
If I’m reading the tea leaves correctly, the Democrats are seeing the writing on the wall. With multiple states (now including Georgia, Texas and Montana) introducing legislation that would nullify Federal firearms laws within their states, they see a possible showdown between the Federal and state governments that has been brewing since the Articles of Confederation were signed and they want to avoid it.
So instead, they’re offering a sacrificial cow — legislation that will let them appeal to their pro gun control base to be “doing something” while giving Republicans the win they need to prove that they are fighting for the Second Amendment. A gigantic legislative circle jerk.
And you know what? I’m okay with that. Because it means we’re winning. Even with the strongest possible emotional argument on their side, they can’t pass anything on the Federal level restricting gun rights. So they’re giving up, going for a symbolic gesture rather than anything substantial.
