There is no doubt that a huge majority of Americans support closing the loopholes on background checks for gun buyers. Poll after poll has shown that between 88% and 90% of Americans want background checks done on buyers in all gun sales -- even those guns sold by private citizens. Hell, those polls show that even gun owners support background checks by about 85%. So it would seem to be sheer insanity for the U.S. Senate not to pass the current gun bill pending in that legislative body -- a bill that only closes the background check loopholes and increases the penalty for gun trafficking (also supported by most Americans).
But it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen. In fact, the bill probably won't even reach the floor of the Senate so a vote can be taken on it. Why can't it at least get an up or down vote? Because at least three Republicans (pictured above) have informed Majority Leader Reed that they intend to filibuster any attempt to call the bill to the floor. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are the senators who will launch that filibuster.
These three senators are making it clear that they will block any new restrictions on guns -- regardless of how reasonable or constitutional they may be, or how much the people of America want them. They understand that 40% of all gun sales in America are currently made without doing a background check -- giving criminals, dangerous psychotics, and domestic abusers easy access to any kind of weapon they want (including assault weapons). They just don't care. For them NRA support and campaign money is more important than trying to lower the number of gun deaths in this country -- including the growing number of mass killings like the Newport killings of 6 and 7 year olds.
Some of the other Senate Republicans could join Democrats and cut off the filibuster, but that is not likely to happen. During the budget debate last week, Mike Lee proposed an amendment opposing any new gun restrictions. It didn't pass, but it got plenty enough votes to sustain a filibuster. It now seems unlikely that any kind of gun bill will pass in either the Senate or the House (which is controlled by Republicans who jump when the NRA says "froggie").
Last week, the Republicans said they want to reach out to more Americans to increase party membership and votes. Why then would they oppose a bill supported by 9 out of 10 Americans? Once again, they are on the wrong side of history -- and they need to be punished for it in the 2014 elections.
