Gun law may be wishful thinking
‘Beautiful’ bill is likely to get bashed around
WASHINGTON – President Trump told lawmakers this week it would be “easy” to produce a “beautiful” bill that would resolve gun violence.
“We’re going to have an amazing result,” he told lawmakers gathered in the Roosevelt Room Wednesday, predicting a vote count “that nobody would even believe.”
But it could be an ugly road for that beautiful bill.
The gun issue is a political and cultural flash point that has paralyzed Congress for years. The issue divides lawmakers along political and geographical lines, and it invokes the power of the National Rifle Association.
Trump has tossed out a dizzying array of possible legislative responses to the massacre Feb. 14 at a Parkland, Fla., high school, including an expansion of background checks, addressing mental illness and arming school teachers against would-be attackers. He wants to raise the minimum age for buying an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, similar to the one used in Parkland, from 18 to 21, the same age for buying a handgun.
None of these would be easy to pass.
Past is prologue
The Senate took up a host of bills after the shooting in December 2012 of 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Gun control advocates expected the massacre of children to be a tipping point, and President Obama threw the power of the White House behind restrictions.
Lawmakers called for banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines and targeted gun trafficking and “straw purchasers” — people who buy guns for others.
A bipartisan proposal, offered by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., seemed to have the most momentum. It was a narrow proposal to expand background checks to include private sales at gun shows and Internet sales, narrowing exemptions mostly to transactions between family and friends.
In April 2013, all the bills were defeated.
Wednesday, Trump suggested Obama didn’t fight hard enough, and he would have no problem bucking the NRA — two assertions that generated skepticism among Democrats.
What will Trump do?
Trump told lawmakers he would sign legislation that would boost the age to buy an AR-15 to 21.
“I think it’s going to be a very successful vote, and I will sign it,” he said.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Trump’s gun comments reminded her of his immigration comments in January, when he told lawmakers he would sign a “bill of love” to increase protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the USA as children and to increase border security.
Later that week, Trump rejected a bipartisan immigration bill as not going far enough.
But Pelosi said she was optimistic this time because of the “sense of urgency” on guns.
Trump realizes passing gun legislation is the right thing to do and knows it will help him politically, said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, DN.Y. “The $64,000 question is, when the NRA starts coming down on him, will he resist?” Schumer said.
Scattered approaches
Trump’s meeting showcased a spectrum of ideas on how to respond to gun violence. On the conservative side, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., called for an expansion of concealed-carry rights. On the liberal side, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., touted a ban on “assault weapons.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., ruled out quick action on sweeping gun legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hopes to take up a bill that would boost authorities’ reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, NICS, but first, the Senate will move to a banking regulatory bill, according to his office.
Democrats have said the “Fix NICS” bill doesn’t go far enough, and Trump said he wanted something “much more comprehensive” — with a different title. “The U.S. background check bill, or whatever,” Trump suggested.
He rejected the notion of expanding concealed-carry law, because he said it would make the larger bill impossible to pass. Democrats oppose expanding concealed-carry rights.
Getting the votes
It’s hard to imagine the easy path Trump predicted for success in the Senate, where most legislation needs
60 votes to pass.
The bipartisan Manchin-Toomey background check bill failed to advance in 2013 because it had only 54 votes.
“I really believe that 60 votes —
60%, meaning — should be so easy. It should be 100%,” Trump said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., responded, “I think you underestimate the power of the gun lobby.”
“The $64,000 question is, when the NRA starts coming down on (Trump), will he resist?”
Sen. Charles Schumer Senate minority leader