Breakdown: Everything about the Senate Gun Control Legislation.

Here is everything that you wanted to know - and ought to know - about the Senate gun control legislation, but probably didn’t. Bipartisan gun control legislation put forward by President Barack Obama and largely supported by the Democratic party failed in the Senate this past week, sparking a firestorm of public criticism, public support, presidential fury, and general shitstorminess. But what is going on? What did the bill say, and why and how did it fail in the midst of the seemingly unending spree of gun violence rocking the nation? That’s what I aim to answer.

What did the bill say?

On February 5th the first of the bipartisan gun control bills was unveiled in Congress, by Republican Congressmen Patrick Meehan and Scott Rigell (PA, VA, respectively) and Democratic Congressmen/women Carolyn Maloney and Elijah Cummings (NY, MD, respectively). The legislation would make firearm trafficking a federal crime, and give a hefty jail time to those who bought guns for those prohibited from buying them. Soon after, a full package of gun control measures was unveiled. In total, it included:

  1. Requiring background checks for online sales and sales at gun shows
  2. Substitute for background check bill that increases enforcement and reporting on mentally ill people.
  3. Renew and strengthen a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
  4. Limit magazine sizes to ten rounds.
  5. Make “straw purchasing” (buying a gun for someone prohibited from doing so) and trafficking a federal crime.
  6. Reauthorize and improve mental health programs.
  7. Impose penalties on states for releasing gun ownership data.
  8. State reciprocity for the carrying of concealed firearms.
  9. Allow only a judge to deem veterans mentally incompetent to own a gun.

This was the gun control legislation on the table. To me, it seemed logical and downright obvious. In fact, I was shocked some things like background checks for those attempting to buy a weapon designed to take human life did not exist in the first place.

Many of these measures were introduced jointly by Republicans and Democrats, as number five was. Out of all of these measures, of which background checks were arguably the most important, only six and seven were passed by the senate. Something as seemingly obvious as background checks was rejected, as was banning high capacity magazines and assault weapons. We are left only with improving mental health programs and the penalizing of states for releasing information on those who own guns. Nothing immediate or concrete is happening; the most vital measures all failed. On top of everything, six and seven will not be going into effect. They were attached to the bill at large, and since the bill at large did not pass, no new gun control legislation is going into effect. After Newton, after Aurora, after MIT - nothing.

Just WHY did these measures fail?

That is the million dollar question. In short, the bill did not receive enough votes. It needed more than 60 Senators’ support to avoid a filibuster; of the 55 Democrats and 45 Republican Senators, 52 Democrats supported the bill and only 4 Republicans. As is obvious, the gun control legislation received virtually no Republican support. President Obama, in a statement yesterday, accused Republican senators of falling prey to political pressure by the NRA instead of doing what was right. He went as far as accusing the NRA and Senators of willfully misleading the American public as to what the effects of the gun contra legislation would be. The NRA - National RIfle Association - put powerful pressure on the government to not increase gun control. According to the New York Times, they spent half a million dollars on Wednesday alone on advertisements criticizing the gun control legislation.

The senators who voted against the bill, of course dispute the President’s claims. Ohio Senator Rob Portman, like others, claims he followed his principles and his support of the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms. Republican Senator Jon Coryn of Texas claims he voted as his constituents would and not because of any NRA pressure. Polls do show, however, that 90% of Americans are in favor of the more stringent background checks. And the reasons given are confusing at best. Senator Flake of Arizona said it would require checks when a gun sale is posted on an office message board (false), while Senator Coburn of Oklahoma said it would raise taxes (what?). Senator Grassley of Iowa said that criminals would not submit to background checks, which apparently invalidates the idea of background checks entirely (?). As Jon Stewart so aptly pointed out, according to this logic it makes sense to not pass a law because hey, criminals are just going to break it anyway.

So what happens now?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used his power as majority leader to effectively “pause” the bill. The filibuster will not happen, which would take the bill off the table. Effectively, a “time out” was called, which gives those in support of the bill additional time to convert the critical number of senators necessary to approve the legislation. At any time a vote can be called again.

Now you now a bit about the gun control legislation that failed in the Senate. You know it’s main provisions, you know a bit about the excuses as to why it did not pass in the Senate. Do you think it should have, or should not? Now that you’re informed, the decisions is yours to make. I only encourage you to act on it once you make it.

Personal Opinion Alert: I support the gun control legislation. Why? Because gun violence is out of control. It is no longer the “other” in my life; it is a part of my life. Someone was murdered several days ago only a handful of blocks from my apartment. I have good friends at MIT, where a policeman was murdered only a few hours ago. Thank goodness my friends are okay, and I can only imagine the state that policeman’s family is in right now. This is real, and this is now. Gun violence will only skirt around us for so long. It is only a matter of time before someone we love gets hurt, and it becomes more real than we could ever imagine. Before that happens, I believe we need to take immediate, powerful action to curb it.

Sources:

New York Times, “Drive for Gun Control Blocked in Senate”

New York Times, “New Gun Measures Considered by the Senate”

Reuters, “Senate Democratic leader Reid hits pause on Gun-Control Bill”

Christian Science Monitor, “Four Reasons the Gun Control Bill May be Kaput”


But the fact is most of these senators could not offer any good reason why we wouldn’t want to make it harder for criminals and those with severe mental illnesses to buy a gun. There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn’t do this. It came down to politics — the worry that that vocal minority of gun owners would come after them in future elections. They worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment.

And obviously, a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they [Republican Congressmen] caved to the pressure, and they started looking for an excuse — any excuse — to vote “no.”

…So all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington.

- President Barack Obama

Speaking yesterday on the failure of Congress to pass a bill that would have extended background checks for those attempting to buy a gun. Ninety percent of Democrats in Congress voted in favor of the bill. Ninety percent of Republicans voted against it.

Truer words were never spoken.

The Senate Fails American on Gun Bills

I wanted to write about this, but sometimes others just say it better. I’ve had a lot of faith in the American government, but this - this is unconscionable.

Those senators, 41 Republicans and four Democrats, killed a bill on Wednesday to expand background checks for gun buyers. It was the last, best hope for meaningful legislation to reduce gun violence after a deranged man used semiautomatic weapons to kill 20 children and six adults at the school in Newtown, Conn., 18 weeks ago. A ban on assault weapons was voted down by 60 senators; 54 voted against a limit on bullet magazines.

The Daily Breakdown: 4/16/2013

Boston Marathon: The final toll is three killed and more than 140 hurt by bombs at the Boston Marathon. The youngest victim was eight-year-old Martin Richards. Two bomb blasts detonated twelve seconds apart at approximately 2:40PM EST time yesterday. No suspects have been detained yet.

Read: “Three Killed in Marathon blast”


Earthquake: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Iran near the Iran-Pakistan border and was felt across the Middle Eastern region. At least 45 people have been reported killed. One government official described it as “the biggest earthquake Iran has felt for forty years”.

Read: “Large Earthquake felt across Middle East”


 Strike: Many prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, a United States military prison where many suspected of being “foreign combatants” have been held prisoner for more than a decade without trial, have been hunger striking for months. Almost a dozen are being force fed. On Sunday, prisoners and guards clashed as auhtorities moved striking inmates out of communal cellblocks. Lawyers for the prisoners say the strike reflects a growing disillusionment and lack of patience with a government failing to treat inmates correctly.

Read: “Clashes at Guantanamo “

“Obama phone” is the widely used — and misleading — nickname of a 28-year-old federal program known as Lifeline. It provides discounts, averaging $9.25 a month, on phone service for 13.3 million low-income subscribers.

In the three and a half years after false rumors started that the Obama administration was giving free cellphones to poor people — and six months after a racially charged video about it went viral — a once-obscure phone service subsidy is getting renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill…

..Lifeline was begun not by President Obama but under Ronald Reagan. It expanded to include cellphone service during the presidency of another Republican, George W. Bush. In Obama’s first term, amid evidence of widespread fraud, the Federal Communications Commission moved to crack down on the program, saving what it predicts will be $400 million this year, on top of $214 million in 2012.

Never mind all that. “Obama phone” has stuck.

Washington Post, “‘Obama Phones’ Subsidy program draws scrutiny on Capitol Hill”


Sometimes I wonder if the people that laud Reagan and look to him as the ideal President actually know anything about what he did.

Source: Washington Post

The Daily Breakdown: 4/9/2013

Gun Control Resurrection: It has been announced that the Senate will hold a vote on Thursday on whether to debate a gun control law. The vote is not on the bill, but whether the Senate will discuss the gun control bill. Conservatives have been blocking the vote, but as their coalition splinters under the pressure to augment gun control, the 60 votes they need to filibuster may not be forthcoming. Though the legislation to be voted on on Thursday would expand the background checks and make gun trafficking a federal crime among other things, the assault weapons band and limits on ammunition magazine size have been dropped from the bill.

Read at: “US Senate to vote on gun control on Thursday”

Escalation: North Korea has warned foreigners in South Korea to exit the country, ostensibly because they are going to begin bombing it. A statement that apparently came from Pyongyang (capital of North Korea)’s Asia Pacific Peace Committee warned the situation in the Korean peninsula is spiraling towards thermonuclear war. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is warning the crisis may escalate out of control if it continues to develop.

Read at: “UN Chief warns crisis could become uncontrollable”

The Daily Breakdown: 4/8/2013

The Daily Breakdown is a new series I’m trying out where I’ll post a few headlines of American and international news every workday morning. The idea is to keep you - and myself - knowledgeable on the important issues of (literally) the day. Let me know what you think. Oh, and if anyone is curious, we won the robotics competition.

Immigration: The Gang of Eight - the eight senators working on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, including Marco Rubio, John McCain, and Chuck Schumer - believe the bill will be finalized this week. An attempt at immigration reform was made in 2007 but collapsed when the two parties and interest groups could not come to a compromise.

Read at:” Senate negotiators finalize deal”

Sexism?: The political blogosphere is awash with opinions on US President Barack Obama’s comment that California attorney general kamala Harris is the “best looking attorney general in the country”. The White House has apologized, calling the comment “distracting” and “inappropriate”. This comment was preceded by Obama saying she was “brilliant and dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you’d want in anbyody with is administering the law”.

Read at: “Obama Apology”

Censorship: Uganda is considering introducing a law that would bann skirts above the knee, citing it as “indecent” and “provocative”. Filsm and TV dramas that violated these rules would be banned from the country. There is a huge backlash from women’s rights groups at the talk of the measure.

Read at: “Uganda proposes ban”

The Daily Breakdown: Tuesday, 4/2/2013

Gun Control: Though the federal assault weapons ban may be dead, Connecticut is taking matters into their own hands. Lawmakers will vote on a comprehensive set of gun restrictions that would - among other things - ban high-capacity magazines, require background checks on all gun sales, and further expand the states’ assault weapons ban to include one hundred new types of firearm. The proposal, which will be voted on tomorrow, is expected to pass with bipartisan support.

See more: “Connecticut agrees to sweeping gun laws”

Brain Mapping: President Obama announced a one hundred million dollar investment in brain mapping research, in order to furhter understanding of how the brai works and come closer to cures for conditions such as Alzheimers and epilepsy. The project is called Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, which is shortened to - you guessed it - BRAIN.

See more: “President Obama announced new brain initiative”

Escalation: North Korea is continuing the escalation by announcing today that it will restart a nuclear reactor it shut down more than five years ago. By doing so they are reneging on an agreement reached in October 2007 with the United States and other nations. North Korea is already believed to have four to ten nuclear weapons.

See more: “North Korea plans to restart shuttered nuclear reactor”

The Daily Breakdown: 4/1/2013

US Immigration Reform: Senator Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida), the Cuban darling of the tea party hoped to bring Latinos to the side of the Republican party, has issued a statement saying that a legislative proposal for immigration reform is not yet complete. He is part of a bipartisan Senate group of eight (known as the “Gang of Eight”) working on a bill that would overhaul immigration reform, offering a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants. Rubio is toeing an extremely fine line as he attempts to please his hyperconservative base and also work towards reform.

See more: “Rubio Among Senators Working on Immigration”

Drug Patent: In a landmark decision, India’s Supreme Court will not allow drug company Novartis AG to patent a new version of their cancer drug Glivec. This has a tremendous impact: the generic version of the drug will still be available for the many poor cancer patients who would be unable to afford the Novartis version. India’s generic drug industry provides a great deal of the cheap medicine used in the developing world.

See More: “Drug Patent”

North vs. South: Tensions continue to rise between North and South Korea. South Korea has promised a “strong response” to North Korean aggression. On Saturday, North Korea stated it was entering a “state of war” with its southern neighbor.

See more: “South Korea Pledges Strong Response”

The Daily Breakdown: 3/29/2013

I’m trying something new - a daily breakdown of a few relevant facts going on in the world today. Predominantly but not entirely based around the US. Read and enjoy.

Private Funding: In a move driven in part by Republican oppposition to increase government spending, President Obama is appealing to private sources to find infrastructure projects. The administration will propose tax breaks and other incentives for foreign funds that invest in US infrastructure.

See: “Obama Promotes Infrastructure Plan”

Growing US Economy: The US economy is growing! In the fourth quarter of 2012 the economy grew at .4%, according to the Department of Commerce. Only 0.1% growth was expected. Still, this was a slowdown from last quarter due to a decrease in government spending brought about by sequester.

See: “US Growth is faster than expected”

North Korea Rocket: North Korea is still being crazy. Leader Kin Jong Un apparently approved a plan to put rockets targeting mainland U.S. on standby. However, many remain skeptical of North Korea’s abilities to actually launch an international strike.

See: “North Korea Prepares Strike”