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Victory!
Senate Roll Call Vote No. 97, on the Manchin-Toomey Amendment. Under the rules, it takes 60 votes to win, and it fell short with 54.
UPDATE: it looks like a party line vote except for:
Demos defecting to vote against: Baccus, Begich, Heitcamp, Pryor, Reid (!!).
Repubs defecting to vote for: Collins, Kirk, McCain,
There are several more amendments, but this is the one that stood the greatest chance. Just putting it up shows how desperate the other side was. To sum: it would have banned private sales via internet or other advertising, and raised the amount of data being reported to NICS. In exchange, it would have made VA appointment of a property guardian a bar only if it was also determined that the vet's mental deterioration made having a gun unsafe, required that everyone affected be notified of that, allowed FFLs to sell at gunshows outside their State, and a number of other beneficial things. But no, the antigunners couldn't win, even going for a very small victory and paying a very big price, and with the media cheering section in full play and the Executive applying every tool it had. (For those not experienced in DC, that includes private offers of big grants and pork to legislators, and denial of favors to those who oppose).
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A wonderful day indeed!
Although I was dreading that this bill would pass anyway and was trying - like Gottlieb - to figure out a way of making lemonade out of lemons, I confess that nothing, I mean nothing beats watching these sniveling weasels being beaten and breaking down. I feel like I'm in a free country again - with a Constitution!
Anyone who thinks the NRA can't lobby is wrong, wrong, wrong. Bless them all!
Lets all hope all those sportsmen don't forget who did this today. Pol-active Gunners everywhere can take some pride.
And Obummer is pissed! I would be too, if I sacrificed several senate and house seats to republicans in 2014... all in vain. I specifically went to Drudge to get that furrowed-brow picture of Obama they always put up when something doesn't go his way, and I wasn't disappointed! Angry O!
We can't celebrate yet. There are still some amendment votes tomorrow so there could be more haggling tonight and anything could pass tomorrow. There were some major flaws in the Manchin-Toomey amendment that could be repaired by tomorrow. Our opponents might keep lowering their demands until they get some kind, any kind, of background check expansion. Any kind of background check expansion would likely eventually lead to a conversion to registration in a few years after people get used to the background checks.
We have a major problem with the legislature not making bills available in their final language at least a couple weeks before a vote. It must be necessary to pass emergency bills, but such emergency bills should require a large super-majority or be shot down by the Supreme Court.
Congress should also vote on the checksum of a bill instead of just the name or number. That way there could be no confusion over the exact wording of what was passed.
There were quite a few poison pills and gotchas in Toomey-Manchin-Sauron as I like to call it (Schumer is a seldom named cosponsor along with the anti-RKBA Republican Kirk from Illinois).
Like nullifying the FOPA of '86 interstate travel provisions for any state or locality where it would be a crime punishable by more than a year, e.g. Massachusetts, New Jersey and NYC. No doubt to be followed by others once they realized the opportunity of adding 1 day to the maximum sentence (which, granted, is usually the threshold from misdemeanor to felony).
This isn't Victory. We beat off an attack, but they'll be back. Victory will be when there are no more Schumers, Feinswines, McVains, Gramnestys, and Sherrod Browns in the Senate. I pray for the day.
The one caveat is that Reid switches to opposing it because under Senate rules that would allow him to bring it back up later...