The Next Battle Has Begun – Salvo Three

You didn’t think Nancy Pelosi would ignore a chance to burnish her progressive credentials with a statement on gun control, did you? If you did, you were living in a dream world.

Of course, Pelosi had to weigh in on gun control on the anniversary of the Parkland murders.

“Three years ago, our nation watched in horror and heartbreak as 17 beautiful souls were stolen in an act of unspeakable terror and gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  Today, we continue to grieve and work with the Parkland families and survivors who have turned their pain into courageous action, inspiring a movement across the country to say, ‘Enough is enough!’

“Last Congress, moved by the daily epidemic of gun violence and guided by the millions of young people marching for their lives, House Democrats took bold action to save lives and end the bloodshed by passing H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act.  Now, working with the Democratic Senate and Biden-Harris Administration, we will enact these and other life-saving bills and deliver the progress that the Parkland community and the American people deserve and demand.

“On this solemn remembrance, Democrats join the American people to renew our commitment to our unfinished work to ensure that no family or community is forced to endure the pain of gun violence.  We will not rest until all Americans, in schools, in the workplace, in places of worship and throughout our communities are safe, once and for all.”

If she were serious about “gun violence” (sic), she would be battling the scourge of drug gangs in minority neighborhoods, she would overturning Obama era policies that allowed the Parkland killer to avoid coming to the notice of police, and she would be getting rid of gun free zones that are nothing but hunting preserves for psychopaths to quote Massad Ayoob.

Today’s The Day

Today is the day that national concealed carry reciprocity finally comes to the floor of the House of Representatives. We have been promised it since last year’s Presidential campaign. It should have come up in March or April but the House Republican leadership seems to have been dragging their feet on this.

We have seen reciprocity pass the House before only to die in the Senate. HR 822 passed the House by a strong majority (272-154) back in November 2011. As much as some are upset about the pairing of carry reciprocity with the Fix NICS Act, that plus the number of red state Democrats up for re-election in the Senate may be the thing that gets it passed. The main thing in the Senate is not only to get it passed but to get it passed without amendments that would either cripple reciprocity or would add a virtual assault weapons ban to the bill. I could see Sen. Dianne Feinstein trying to do both of those things.

In the meantime, here is the schedule for today as put out by the House Majority Leader’s Office.

H.R. 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, Rules Committee Print (Closed Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson / Judiciary Committee)
Postponed Suspension Votes:
1) S. 1266 – Enhancing Veteran Care Act (Sponsored by Sen. James M. Inhofe / Veterans Affairs Committee)
2) H.Con.Res. 90 – Condemning ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya and calling for an end to the attacks in and an immediate restoration of humanitarian access to the state of Rakhine in Burma, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley / Foreign Affairs Committee)
Special Order Speeches

The House will first have to vote on House Resolution 645 which contains the rule for consideration of HR 38. The Rules Committee provided this summary of the rule:

Rule Information

COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY RECORD VOTE of 8-3 on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.
FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 645: 
MANAGERS: Collins/Hastings
1. Closed rule.
2. Provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
4. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-45 shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
5. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
6. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

The bottom line is that today is the day to light up the phones to Capitol Hill and district offices. You can be damn sure the gun prohibitionists are doing it and thanks to Giffords you know what they are going to say.

One Way To End A Sit-In

Anti-gun Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) tweeted this out picture of the Democrat’s sit-in of the House of Representatives floor. They are demanding a vote on gun control.

Here’s a suggestion for Speaker Paul Ryan and the Republican leadership. Be kind to those aging Democrats. I’m sure they are thirsty and you don’t want them fainting from dehydration. Send them some water or even some energy drinks (full of caffeine).

Make sure you provide them with a lot of liquids. Insist that they continue their sit-in for many more hours and don’t let them leave. I assure you that those old male Democrats with their old man bladders are going to start to get really twitchy sooner than later. I don’t care how much Flomax or Toviaz they are taking for BPH and OAB.

Trust me, it’ll work.