On March 28 President Barack Obama hosted an event at the
White House, to which he invited families of gun violence victims. He spoke
about his commitment to improving gun control. “…if there is a step we can take
that will save just one child, just one parent, just another town from
experiencing the same grief that some of the moms and dads who are here have
endured, then we should be doing it. We have an obligation to try.” (whitehouse.gov)
He warned about the resistance, saying “It’s not done until
it’s done. And there are some powerful voices on the other side that are
interested in running out the clock or changing the subject or drowning out the
majority of the American people to prevent any of these reforms from happening
at all. They’re doing everything they can to make all our progress collapse under
the weight of fear and frustration – or their assumption is that everyone will
just forget about it.”
If hardliner Republicans could have had their way they would have blocked the
President from achieving his objective, but today the Senate voted 68-31 to
open a debate on the proposals Obama has put forward to expand background
checks for people buying guns online and at gun shows, further restrict gun
trafficking and increase funding for school security. 16 Republicans, 50
Democrats and 2 Independents made up that majority.
This is just the beginning, but at least it’s a start. 29 Republicans
and 2 Democrats tried to block this and they failed. The 2 Democrats are facing
re-election in the pro-gun, conservative states of Arkansas and Alaska. Go
figure.
The measure has to be debated in the Senate – where it might
end up being significantly amended - and then passed by Congress. It’s hard to
be optimistic, especially in the light of Boehner’s comment that he wouldn’t promise
a House Vote on any gun bill produced by the Senate. More sinister is an open
threat the NRA made. “Given the importance of these issues, votes on all
anti-gun amendments or proposals will be considered in NRA’s future candidate
evaluations” wrote NRA chief lobbyist Christopher W. Cox in an open letter to
Congress. (firstread.nbcnews.com)
Also, a group of Republican Senators have vowed to
filibuster the bill by suggesting endless amendments and using up all the debate
time allowed for each amendment. And they are supported by Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell, who voted against even having a formal debate.
Have Republicans learned anything since their defeat? It
seems not. After Obama was re-elected, there was a lot of talk within the ranks
about how they would have to change if they wanted to retain support. It seems
they have short memories. It’s hard to know what their idea of change was, but
whatever it was it’s gone with the wind. What hasn’t changed, though, is that
they still don’t have majority support amongst voters. The lastest poll by Wall
Street Journal and NBC showed that 55% approved of stricter laws, as opposed to
34% who didn’t want the laws to change.
At some point they will discover that they can’t run a
country when nobody votes them into power. By then it will be too late. Which
can only be a good thing. In the meantime, kudos to President Obama for his
continued efforts to restore America to sanity.
But he can’t do it on his own, which he was very clear about
on March 28. “If enough members of Congress take a stand for cooperation and
common sense, and lead, and don’t get squishy because time has passed and maybe
it’s not on the news every single day – if that’s who we are, if that’s our
character that we’re willing to follow through on our commitments that we say
are important – commitments to each other and to our kids – then I’m confident
that we can make this country a safer place for all of them.” (whitehouse.gov)
