CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
July 23, 2012 – 9:00 p.m.
Gun Rights Supporters Blame Reid for Inaction on Concealed-Weapons Bill
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
The National Rifle Association and its Republican allies are holding off on any effort to force action on a House-passed bill that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines.
But gun rights proponents attribute their reluctance to Senate Majority Leader
Sen.
The House bill (
Some advocates of gun rights have argued that a licensed gun owner in the movie theater might have been able to stop the July 20 shootings that left 12 dead and 58 wounded.
“The reason it’s not moving is the majority leader,” said
But Thune said there is strong bipartisan support for his version (
Tester said he hoped Democratic leaders would allow a vote on the concealed-weapons proposal. Such a vote, he said, would show that the Senate “can get stuff done.”
An NRA spokesman declined to comment on his group’s strategy and timetable for promoting the concealed-gun measure on Capitol Hill.
Majority Whip
If the issue did come to a vote, Durbin said the NRA would have a major impact on the outcome. “It’s very strong, with influence on many members,” he said.
Harry L. Wilson, a political scientist at Roanoke College who studies the history and politics of gun legislation, said the NRA and its allies are likely being cautious since they cannot be sure of winning such a Senate vote and because President Obama might not sign the legislation if they were able to get it through the chamber.
Gun Rights Supporters Blame Reid for Inaction on Concealed-Weapons Bill
Wilson said the NRA and its supporters may think it best to try to advance their agenda next year, when Republicans hope to control both chambers and the White House. Even if Obama is re-elected, Wilson said, Republican control of the Senate in the next Congress could make it possible to pass the bill and put Obama and the Democrats in a difficult political position.
Tighter Controls Also on Hold
Senate Democrats are signaling they have no plans to push for action on gun control legislation after the shooting rampage.
Caley Gray, a Lautenberg spokesman, said he “is committed to moving his high-capacity magazine ban immediately and is exploring every option for doing so.”
Lautenberg’s measure, introduced in January 2011, has been on hold despite the backing of two powerful Democratic cosponsors: Durbin and
Lautenberg’s push has attracted only muted support from Democratic leaders. A senior aide said the Senate floor schedule is too crowded to allow Lautenberg’s bill to be brought up. A similar proposal (
Durbin said Monday that gun control proposals should be discussed, but he stopped short of calling for votes on any of them. “There are going to be a lot of discussions and debates about whether we need to change any of our laws or policies,” Durbin said. “We certainly owe it to the victims and their families to see that those debates are guided by an honest assessment of the facts.”
Obama and other Democratic leaders made no mention in statements over the weekend and Monday about the need for a ban on large-capacity clips or any other gun control measures.
“It’s a bad time to embrace a new subject,” she said.
Robert J. Spitzer, a political science professor at State University of New York at Cortland, said Democrats are unlikely to push for gun control legislation in the current Congress, in part because of the political ramifications of such a drive in swing states. He said that stance also mirrored the cool position taken by Reid on the issue of gun control.
“They have their path to Election Day mapped out, and it doesn’t include gun control,” Spitzer said.
Gun Rights Supporters Blame Reid for Inaction on Concealed-Weapons Bill
The 1994 ban on assault weapons and large-capacity clips (PL 103-322) was enacted five years after a gunman killed five children and wounded 30 others before killing himself at a school in Stockton, Calif. The 1994 law expired in 2004, and Democrats have taken few steps to renew it.
Many Democrats attributed Vice President Al Gore’s defeat in the 2000 presidential race to opposition from gun rights supporters who were critical of the unsuccessful Democratic push to require background checks on gun purchases made at gun shows.
The campaign for legislation followed the killing of 13 and wounding of 21 others at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in April 1999.
Since then, most Democrats have largely avoided calling for gun control; this was a pillar of the party’s congressional campaign strategy in 2006 and 2008 and is unlikely to be reversed now, Spitzer added.