Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 08:31:51 -0400
From: Neal Knox <neal@nealknox.com>
Subject: House Gun Vote Set for Thursday
June 16 Neal Knox Report - Late last night the Rules Committee
completed the voting procedure on the Juvenile Justice bill, H.R.
1501, and the sidebar gun package.
The Juvenile bill, with Henry Hyde's amendments focussing on
the impact of cultural issues and taking some whacks at the
entertainment industry, will be on the floor today.
The gun provisions will be on the floor tomorrow, June 17,
with the centerpiece being Rep. John Dingell's NRA-backed amendment
requiring background checks on gun show buyers, but only allowing
FBI a maximum of 24 hours to conduct a so-called "Instant Check."
Rep. Dingell's proposal, co-sponsored by five other senior
pro-gun Democrats defines a gun show as an event where at
least 50 guns are offered for sale on at least 10 tables. That
would exempt small flea markets and individuals who bring a
personal gun to an event for trade or sale from having to perform
background checks.
Dingell's amendment, according to the summary I've seen, would
prohibit any charge for conducting the background checks and
require records of purchases by law-abiding citizens to be
immediately destroyed -- essentially the provisions of the Smith
Amendment passed 69-31 by the Senate last summer.
The Democrat-sponsored Dingell package is expected to pass by
drawing about 60 Democrat votes, since his sponsorship gives cover
to a lot of wavering Democrats. But it also gives cover to a lot
of wavering Republicans.
Democrats are fuming that Rules Committee did not approve an
up or down vote on the entire Senate-passed gun package.
Judiciary Chairman Hyde is the sponsor of the main alternative
to the Dingell Amendment, a package quite similar to the Lautenberg
amendment that passed the Senate. Republican Hyde's amendment uses
Lautenberg's "compromise" definition of "gun show," but allows
three business days for FBI to conclude the checks -- which is how
the Senate-passed bill reads.
Because around 25 percent of "Instant Checks" are not
immediately approved due to similarity of names and non-
disqualifying arrests or outstanding warrants -- many of them for
excessive traffic violations -- the three-working-day allowance
would almost certainly eliminate a fourth of gun show sales, and
many more if the FBI reduced its NICS manpower during weekends.
Democrats are most angry over the fact that by taking the
point on the "weaker" gun control proposal, the most senior member
of the House, who is one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, has
denied President Clinton and anti-gun Democrats the planned
centerpiece of next year's Congressional campaign.
No longer can the anti-gun crowd and the news media condemn
Republicans as being in the pocket of NRA, while gunowners are
simultaneously condemning Republicans for having "caved in" on
guns. That double-whammy would unquestionably have cost
Republicans control of Congress -- and it could still happen due to
the simmering anger of gunowners against Republicans.
But a lot of gunowners are even angrier at NRA Executive Vice
President Wayne LaPierre for giving Congress the green light for
NICS checks on private sales at gun shows.
--------------
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has taken a lot of
justifiable heat for allowing all the gun amendments to be brought
up on the Senate floor last month, and giving Vice President Al
Gore the opportunity to cast the deciding vote for the Democrats'
bill to "close the gun show loophole."
Now Leader Lott is trying to worm off the griddle by claiming
that Gore's vote will hurt his Presidential aspirations in many
states. It may, but that doesn't absolve Lott for presiding over
the gun law fiasco in the Senate -- which has seriously damaged
Republican Senators with both pro- and anti-gunners.
That kind of screw-up takes real skill.
From: Neal Knox <neal@nealknox.com>
Subject: House Gun Vote Set for Thursday
June 16 Neal Knox Report - Late last night the Rules Committee
completed the voting procedure on the Juvenile Justice bill, H.R.
1501, and the sidebar gun package.
The Juvenile bill, with Henry Hyde's amendments focussing on
the impact of cultural issues and taking some whacks at the
entertainment industry, will be on the floor today.
The gun provisions will be on the floor tomorrow, June 17,
with the centerpiece being Rep. John Dingell's NRA-backed amendment
requiring background checks on gun show buyers, but only allowing
FBI a maximum of 24 hours to conduct a so-called "Instant Check."
Rep. Dingell's proposal, co-sponsored by five other senior
pro-gun Democrats defines a gun show as an event where at
least 50 guns are offered for sale on at least 10 tables. That
would exempt small flea markets and individuals who bring a
personal gun to an event for trade or sale from having to perform
background checks.
Dingell's amendment, according to the summary I've seen, would
prohibit any charge for conducting the background checks and
require records of purchases by law-abiding citizens to be
immediately destroyed -- essentially the provisions of the Smith
Amendment passed 69-31 by the Senate last summer.
The Democrat-sponsored Dingell package is expected to pass by
drawing about 60 Democrat votes, since his sponsorship gives cover
to a lot of wavering Democrats. But it also gives cover to a lot
of wavering Republicans.
Democrats are fuming that Rules Committee did not approve an
up or down vote on the entire Senate-passed gun package.
Judiciary Chairman Hyde is the sponsor of the main alternative
to the Dingell Amendment, a package quite similar to the Lautenberg
amendment that passed the Senate. Republican Hyde's amendment uses
Lautenberg's "compromise" definition of "gun show," but allows
three business days for FBI to conclude the checks -- which is how
the Senate-passed bill reads.
Because around 25 percent of "Instant Checks" are not
immediately approved due to similarity of names and non-
disqualifying arrests or outstanding warrants -- many of them for
excessive traffic violations -- the three-working-day allowance
would almost certainly eliminate a fourth of gun show sales, and
many more if the FBI reduced its NICS manpower during weekends.
Democrats are most angry over the fact that by taking the
point on the "weaker" gun control proposal, the most senior member
of the House, who is one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, has
denied President Clinton and anti-gun Democrats the planned
centerpiece of next year's Congressional campaign.
No longer can the anti-gun crowd and the news media condemn
Republicans as being in the pocket of NRA, while gunowners are
simultaneously condemning Republicans for having "caved in" on
guns. That double-whammy would unquestionably have cost
Republicans control of Congress -- and it could still happen due to
the simmering anger of gunowners against Republicans.
But a lot of gunowners are even angrier at NRA Executive Vice
President Wayne LaPierre for giving Congress the green light for
NICS checks on private sales at gun shows.
--------------
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has taken a lot of
justifiable heat for allowing all the gun amendments to be brought
up on the Senate floor last month, and giving Vice President Al
Gore the opportunity to cast the deciding vote for the Democrats'
bill to "close the gun show loophole."
Now Leader Lott is trying to worm off the griddle by claiming
that Gore's vote will hurt his Presidential aspirations in many
states. It may, but that doesn't absolve Lott for presiding over
the gun law fiasco in the Senate -- which has seriously damaged
Republican Senators with both pro- and anti-gunners.
That kind of screw-up takes real skill.