Similarly to when he backed an environmentally based bill in late September 2015, Senator Chuck Schumer is backing another bill that is predicted not to pass. Schumer, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and the other Senate Democrats are preparing a legislative push for gun control after the tragic mass shooting that occurred at Umpqua Community College in Oregon over a week ago. Because of the Republican control of the House and their general lack of interest in restricting guns, the House Democrats are most likely not going to be successful in passing any sort of gun control legislation. Senator Schumer and Senator Stabenow wrote a letter for the other Democrats that their effort with this legislation, "will be a rallying point for a public that is eager for congressional action and will be the basis for future legislation that we will demand" (read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/07/us/politics/ap-us-congress-guns.html?_r=0). The Democrats drive to keep this issue alive will make it so this is still a hot-button issue by the time the 2016 elections come around and that they will gain more support from the public for keeping this issue alive.
This is an unfortunate reality with our Congress today. The overwhelming polarization in the House today makes it so barely any legislation can be passed. Essentially, the most that can be done is simply creating legislation to keep issues alive in order to gain popularity and support from the general American public. It will be interesting to see how the issue of gun control will be approached in the 2016 elections and if any of Congress's actions will be commented on.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/07/us/politics/ap-us-congress-guns.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/08/democrats-to-propose-new-gun-measures-if-only-as-a-means-of-pressure/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/us/politics/senate-democrats-to-renew-push-for-gun-control-measures.html
1 comment:
It's so interesting to consider what drives the partisanship around gun control. While the NRA, among other groups that champion Second Amendment rights, contributes large amounts of money to political campaigns and groups that aid campaigns, this is not sufficient for explaining why conservative (and, thus, mostly GOP) lawmakers are so against gun control. It is unlikely that even a large monetary contribution would get a candidate elected if her or his constituents did not support the platform on which she or he were running, which would likely include a position on gun control. Since most people agree that tragedies such as the Umpqua shooting should be prevented, why can't legislation be passed on something as simple as universal background checks on people attempting to purchase guns? This is certainly far from going into one's home and taking her or his personal firearms away, as many people seem to think when they hear 'gun control.' So why are simple gun control measures so hard to pass? While a MC's constituents often back her positions, to some degree, perhaps their fears of tyrannical gun control stem from the advertising (read: propaganda) of the gun lobby. Thus, it would create a cycle of constituents supporting anti-gun-control positions, which lead to MCs supporting these positions, which benefits the NRA and other groups, who can then keep promoting these views.
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