You can breathe a sign of relief now.
“The Gun Owners of America chimed in,
attacking Republican senators who showed any interest in compromise,
arguing that a national gun registry would arise from the bill.” -The
New York Times, April 17, 2013
But let's face it. We're never going to be able to let our guard down entirely, until the 113th Congress adjourns in December, 2014.
Senator Harry Reid has now pulled the gun bill from the floor. And it appears he would have to move to proceed in order to bring it up again - something that would require 60 votes to do so.
Moreover, if Obama tries to make another run at gun control, pro-gun senators are prepared to go on the offensive and offer amendments to back Harry Reid down. These provisions would include pro-gun amendments that:
- Cut Justice Department funds for states with gun confiscation and registration (i.e., New York, Connecticut, Maryland);
- Take another run at passing the Thune-Cornyn-Vitter national concealed carry reciprocity amendment;
- Provide that no veteran can lose any constitutional right without a court order.
1) First of all, there’s you! The Nutty Lefties now fear you guys more than any group in America. Give yourself a pat on the back for all your hard work. It has been noticed by many on Capitol Hill and even by the anti-gun media.
Just consider some of the recent headlines:
- “Democrats blame ‘Gun Owners of America’ for gun control setback,” - TPM, April 8, 2013.
- “Gun Owners of America out-hardlines the NRA” - Salon, April 4, 2013.
- “Upstart group [GOA] pushes harder than the NRA,” - New York Times, April 3, 2013.
And then there’s what anti-gun Senators are saying:
- “Schumer’s spokesman Brian Fallon took note of Gun Owners of America’s role in the debate, tweeting a link to the Times profile and saying the group ‘is making a deal on even background checks extremely hard.’” - TPM, April 8, 2013
- “Democratic staffers likewise tell the paper [Slate] that other Republicans they’ve approached to co-sponsor a background check bill were quick to point to the GOA as the most obvious reason not to.” - Slate, April 4, 2013
These three Senators led the filibuster and forced Obama & Co. to expend much capital in simply getting Reid’s gun control bill to the floor.
Honorable mention also goes to Senators John Cornyn (TX) and John Thune (SD) and their offices. While Cornyn is a key player on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thune is the leader of the Second Amendment Task Force in the Senate. Both offices provided invaluable support in strategizing and marshaling the opposition to Reid’s gun control efforts.
Finally, we should not forget Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who adopted a very sound strategy in combating Reid’s gun control bill. Nor should we forget the words of the Declaration of Independence and our “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence” for His defense of our rights.
3) The gun lobby that represents you. GOA and NRA stood together in opposition to gun control. Our presence was even able to pull another gun organization onto the right side - the one that announced it was originally supporting the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer provision. As we alluded to in a previous alert, that group later renounced its initial support.
4) The Senators who both supported the Paul-Cruz-Lee filibuster and opposed the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer provision.
Realize that many of these Senators who voted right were under INTENSE PRESSURE to vote wrong. GOA has heard of intense debates that occurred in some of the offices that voted right.
And yesterday, the Brady Campaign began using its platform on MSNBC to urge gun banners to call their Senators and hammer those who voted for the Second Amendment.
So it is imperative for us to not forget those who voted right!
With that in mind, we are listing below the Senators who voted correctly on the TWO MOST IMPORTANT VOTES: the vote AGAINST the motion to proceed on S. 649 on April 11 and AGAINST the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer amendmend on April 17.
There are 31 Senators who voted right on BOTH of these key votes, and this is who they are:
| John Barrasso (R-WY) | Mark Begich (D-AK) |
| Roy Blunt (R-MO) | John Boozman (R-AR) |
| Dan Coats (R-IN) | Thad Cochran (R-MS) |
| John Cornyn (R-TX) | Mike Crapo (R-ID) |
| Ted Cruz (R-TX) | Mike Enzi (R-WY) |
| Deb Fischer (R-NE) | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) |
| Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Jim Inhofe (R-OK) |
| Mike Johanns (R-NE) | Tim Johnson (R-WI) |
| Mike Lee (R-UT) | Mitch McConnell (R-KY) |
| Jerry Moran (R-KS) | Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) |
| Rand Paul (R-KY) | Rob Portman (R-OH) |
| Mark Pryor (D-AR) | James Risch (R-ID) |
| Pat Roberts (R-KS) | Marco Rubio (R-FL) |
| Tim Scott (R-SC) | Jeff Sessions (R-AL) |
| Richard Shelby (R-AL) | John Thune (R-SD) |
| David Vitter (R-LA) |
And you might point out the following irony to those Senators who voted wrong: During a week when the Senate voted to infringe upon the rights of gun owners, the residents in Boston were cowering in fear and locked in their homes hoping that one of the two bombers didn’t go into their homes and take them hostage while they’re hiding from the cops. Gun control does not make us safer and does not stop bad guys from acquiring dangerous weapons.
How they voted. You can go to the links below, to see how your Senators voted on the most important issues:
(1) Votes where GOA scored NO as the correct position - the motion to proceed to S. 649 (the filibuster vote), the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer gun owner registry, the Feinstein gun ban, and the Lautenberg magazine limitation; and,
(2) Votes where GOA scored YES as the correct position: the Cornyn-Vitter-Thune concealed carry reciprocity amendment, the Burr provision to protect veterans’ gun rights, and the Barrasso language cutting off funds to states that release gun owners’ names.
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