Previously we have discussed the progress of the National Concealed Carry bills on Capitol Hill forgive me if I was optimistic. Now it seems the Zimmerman matter has given the enemies of gun rights a second wind.
In the most recent step Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has put a hold on both concealed carry bills now awaiting action in the Senate.
A hold is a senators privilege and stops action in two ways. First much of the Senates business is conducted by unanimous consent. As long as no one objects the measure passes. One objection and the body is forced to hold a vote. The second way is that a hold carries the threat of a filibuster which requires 60 votes to bring cloture or end the delay.
In her letter to Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) Feinstein cited the Zimmerman-Martin shooting scandal as a reason for the country to step away from restoring gun rights.
She wrote: In recent weeks our nation has witnessed tragic gun violence in Sanford Florida and in Oakland California which is only a short drive from my home. Notably George Zimmerman the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford Florida had been issued a concealed carry permit under Florida law even though he had previously been subject to a court order for domestic abuse of his ex-fiance.
It is this kind of twisted logic and twisting of facts that terrifies me.
My contacts on the Hill say that although the anti-gun right forces have tried to exploit the tragedy of Martins death support of gun rights by the American people has not wavered. I have heard directly from a staffer very close to the Thune-Vitter bill who said things are moving forward.
Because a concealed carry bill passed the House in November all the action is in the Senate. In the last Congress senators John R. Thune (R-S.D) and David Vitter (R-La.) forced the Senate to vote on a national concealed carry bill by attaching it to the defense funding bill.
That bill got 58 votes! Yes it was short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Democratic threats of filibuster.
The Senate is more pro-gun than it has been since the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. A Democrat would have a tough time explaining switching their vote from then to now.
I am absolutely convinced that the Thune-Vitter bill will not only get a vote on the floor but will pass before the end of the summer.
In the next few weeks I will have an interview with one of the senators leading the effort on Capitol Hill to pass the Thune-Vitter bill. This is the No. 1 item on my watch list and I really really believe that you need to tell your senator that you support the Thune-Vitter bill.
Previously we have discussed the progress of the National Concealed Carry bills on Capitol Hill forgive me if I was optimistic. Now it seems the Zimmerman matter has given the enemies of gun rights a second wind.
In the most recent step Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has put a hold on both concealed carry bills now awaiting action in the Senate.
A hold is a senators privilege and stops action in two ways. First much of the Senates business is conducted by unanimous consent. As long as no one objects the measure passes. One objection and the body is forced to hold a vote. The second way is that a hold carries the threat of a filibuster which requires 60 votes to bring cloture or end the delay.
In her letter to Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) Feinstein cited the Zimmerman-Martin shooting scandal as a reason for the country to step away from restoring gun rights.
She wrote: In recent weeks our nation has witnessed tragic gun violence in Sanford Florida and in Oakland California which is only a short drive from my home. Notably George Zimmerman the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford Florida had been issued a concealed carry permit under Florida law even though he had previously been subject to a court order for domestic abuse of his ex-fiance.
It is this kind of twisted logic and twisting of facts that terrifies me.
My contacts on the Hill say that although the anti-gun right forces have tried to exploit the tragedy of Martins death support of gun rights by the American people has not wavered. I have heard directly from a staffer very close to the Thune-Vitter bill who said things are moving forward.
Because a concealed carry bill passed the House in November all the action is in the Senate. In the last Congress senators John R. Thune (R-S.D) and David Vitter (R-La.) forced the Senate to vote on a national concealed carry bill by attaching it to the defense funding bill.
That bill got 58 votes! Yes it was short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Democratic threats of filibuster.
The Senate is more pro-gun than it has been since the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. A Democrat would have a tough time explaining switching their vote from then to now.
I am absolutely convinced that the Thune-Vitter bill will not only get a vote on the floor but will pass before the end of the summer.
In the next few weeks I will have an interview with one of the senators leading the effort on Capitol Hill to pass the Thune-Vitter bill. This is the No. 1 item on my watch list and I really really believe that you need to tell your senator that you support the Thune-Vitter bill.
