Similarly to how Senator Chuck Schumer lobbied with Jon Stewart on September 16, 2015, Chuck Schumer lobbied with yet another celebrity with a slight familial twist. On October 25, 2015, the Senator lobbied with his famous cousin Amy Schumer, who is best known for her comedy series Inside Amy Schumer, to back a proposed gun control bill that aims to fix the issues with current background checks necessary to purchase guns, sponsored by Chuck himself. To kick things off, Amy discussed how 2015 Lafayette Shooting still impacts her today because of the lives that were lost because they wanted to see her movie "Trainwreck." She then went on to discuss how passing this gun legislation is common sense and that it will save lives and that this is an achievable goal. On twitter, Amy started a #aimingforchange to raise awareness and gain more support for the issue of ending gun violence. The two also lobbied for stricter gun laws approximately a month after the Lafayette Shooting and there have been over 100 more shooting since the time they first lobbied on the matter of gun control.
An important question to think about is: why does Senator Schumer do this lobbying with Amy Schumer? A good way for politicians to get some more media attention today is to rally with famous and well-liked celebrities. Politicians are often viewed as not being relatable or even liked to the American public, so lobbying with a popular figures that the general public finds to be likable and relatable makes the politicians seem a bit more relatable and likable to the public and their constituents--even if it's only for a fleeting moment.
So what does this mean? Will Chuck Schumer's move to lobby with Amy Schumer make any strides towards stricter gun control? Based on how polarized Congress is at the moment and how the NRA is one of the biggest PACs supporting the Republican party, there's a very slim chance of a bill like this passing anytime soon. The best thing this will accomplish is that the creation of these bills will keep the issue of gun control alive. This is similar to how the Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats introduced a bill about reducing greenhouse gases back in September. They knew wouldn't pass, but they still put it forward to keep the issue of greenhouse gases alive so it could be discussed in the 2016 Presidential Election. Amy's stance and hashtag will most likely be fleeting as well. It might make some of her fans more interested in the issue for a short amount of time, but the likelihood that this is something that'll hold the interest of her fans longterm is relatively slim. They like her and stick with her for her celebrity status and comedic skills, not for her political actions.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/amy-schumer-teams-sen-chuck-schumer-urge-gun/story?id=34734979
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/amy-schumer-joins-sen-chuck-schumer-gun-control-push-article-1.2411112
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amy-schumer-sen-chuck-schumer-call-for-tighter-gun-control/
https://twitter.com/amyschumer/status/658355049291194369
1 comment:
The partnership between the two Schumers is so interesting because, as you noted, pairing with a celebrity can bring added media attention to the Congressperson or the issue that she/he is championing. I agree that this collaboration likely boosts Chuck Schumer's likeability (and maybe that of Congress more broadly) but what I find really interesting is that this is not, as far as I can tell, a campaign tactic. While Schumer is up for re-election in 2016, it is still a bit early to be using such measures to increase his likeability (unlike Hillary Clinton and her SNL appearance). So if he isn't trying to rally the public around his own campaign, what is he doing? I agree with you, Mariel, that this is not so much about passing legislation as it is about keeping the issue alive in the minds of the general public and the electorate. Perhaps a leftward shift in Congress following the 2016 elections will make gun control an issue that can actually be discussed and handled by lawmakers.
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