Gun control: the NRA's victory may sow the seeds of eventual defeat

[pampango]

The Way Forward On Guns by EJ Dionne

Victories often contain the seeds of future defeats. So it is — or at least should be — with the Senate’s morally reprehensible rejection of expanded background checks for gun buyers. The National Rifle Association assumed that blocking new gun legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre would firmly establish its dominance. Advocates of sane gun regulations would scatter in despair and be torn apart by recriminations.

But there is a flaw in the gun lobbyists’ calculation: Their strategy leaves the initiative entirely in the hands of their opponents. The early evidence is that rage over the cowardly capitulation of so many senators to raw political power is pushing activists against gun violence to redouble their efforts. What was striking about Wednesday’s vote is that many of the senators who had expressed support for universal background checks after the slaughter at Newtown meekly abandoned their position when the roll was called.

Proponents of the measure, including Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, spoke of private meetings in which senators offered no substantive objections to the compromise negotiated by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA). The wobbling legislators simply hinted that politics would not permit them to vote “yes.”

Giffords’ frustration echoed sentiment all across her side of the debate. In the past, Democrats who support gun safety had reacted benignly to members of their party from rural states who opposed sensible gun measures for expediency’s sake. Not this time. The response to Democrats who opposed background checks — Sens. Max Baucus, Mark Begich, Heidi Heitkamp and Mark Pryor — was indignation.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/the-way-forward-on-guns/

Time will tell if the NRA lost the war by winning the battle. That seems a little like wishful thinking, but one can always hope and fight.

[onehandle]

1. The hate group had a short term win. As the country crowds and blueifies, gun control is inevitable.

[Heather MC]

2. I wish getting Senators who were not under Corporate control was inevitable.

It's so frustrating that these people don't even try to hide their leashes anymore

[sigmasix]

3. evil contains the seeds of it's own downfall

The domestic terrorist organization called the NRA already contains enough evil anti-Americanism to convince most Americans that The NRA is busily undermining our entire political system on the whim of a governing board of directors that includes pedophiles, drunks, rapist, wife beaters, poachers and Klu Klux Klan dragons. The NRA is the man-gun love association of North America. And lot's of Americans agree with this description of the NRA~ gun regulation is going to happen~ the question is: how many dead babies will the NRA gloat over before Americans punish them for thier murder lust? We will have more and more gun massacres as NRA members and advocates continue to strengthen their close allignment with evil.
But, as with the way of all evil, they will fail in the end as long as good people are willing to stand-up to the NRA's evil.

[hack89]

4. Same thing happened to gun control groups in 1994

their greatest victory, the first AWB, was a massive self inflected wound they have yet to recover from.

So there certainly is precedence for groups to over reach and do serious harm to their cause.

[pipoman]

5. IOW

'We're not going to get creative and try to find solutions in the shorter term, or proactively help with passage of something similar in the future, or take it to the states (where it will ultimately have to go)....we'll just keep running the same flag up the pole at every opportunity...the last 6+ times failed but next time it'll work by golly....just keep sending your money in to those groups fighting the good fight (repeating the same activity expecting different results)..'

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. But this time there will be

10 times the antagonistic rhetoric against 100% of the opponent's base, 60% of the independents and 30% of their own base.

If that's not a formula guaranteed to get results, I don't know what is.

[KharmaTrain]

6. A Major Reason The NRA Victory Will Be Hollow And Short-Lived...

...and unfortunately it's not a pretty situation...another mass shooting. It's not an if it's a when...and once again the NRA will be on the wrong side of a majority of the American populace. The question that remains to be answered is are they on the wrong side of the American electorate...2014 will give us answers. Unlike the past...Sandy Hook has helped create and energize a formidable response to the NRA and their ham-handed way of dealing with gun violence is costing them in every state that is witness to some kind of mass murder...

[HereSince1628]

9. Seems to me another mass shooting will just result in finger pointing at monsters among us

Whether they are criminals, or terrorists or the mentally ill, the problem will be deflected as a problem with people, not with firearms.

[HereSince1628]

8. The bill included things other than closing bkgrnd loop-holes

like $100 million for funding states to get better compliance for reporting information into the FBI's NICS--it's hard to think anyone really wouldn't support that pittance of money coming to the states.

But, the bill also included something that the NRA would be rather more afraid of...the creation of a joint Congressional commission charged with researching gun violence and making recommendations for future federal action.

It also guaranteed private ownership of firearms and defined legal requirements for transport of firearms in privately owned cars and trucks.

I've seen almost no mention of anything in the Manchin-Toomey but the background check loopholes.

It seems to me that the funding for states to comply with existing reporting requiremens isn't controversial and could pass. It seems like the firearms transportation rules could pass.

I suspect the creation of the commission wouldn't pass because 20 years ago NRA was opposed to research about gun violence and that probably remains that way because recommendation will undoubtedly be related to firearms sales. The NRA is afterall the chief lobby for firearms sales.

It's unclear to me how the bill could be sweetened to overcome resistance to closing background check loopholes and the creation of the joint Congressional commission, but maybe it could be sweetened to get one of those things.