Manchin-Toomey Fails

I just watched the vote on the S. Amdt 715 aka the Manchin-Toomey substitute amendment on C-Span. It needed 60 votes to pass.

It lost! And to be honest, we won.

The vote count was 54 aye to 46 nay.

I will post the roll call as soon as it is available. Of note was that Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) made it to the Senate to vote. Of course he voted for it.

UPDATE: Here is the roll call. Any red-state Democrat who voted for it and says they believe in the Second Amendment is lying to you.  Senators like McCain, Collins, Toomey, and King are just beyond the pale.

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs —54
Baldwin (D-WI)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Cowan (D-MA)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Hirono (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaine (D-VA)
King (I-ME)
Kirk (R-IL)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Toomey (R-PA)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs —46
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Enzi (R-WY)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Lee (R-UT)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

New Jersey Native Threatens To Replace AZ Senator Over His Pro-Gun Stance

In one of the more amusing news stories today, Mark Kelly, gun control advocate and husband of Gabby Giffords, is threatening to “replace” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in 2018 if Flake doesn’t vote for gun control.

Kelly was reacting to Flake’s announcement — posted Monday night on the senator’s Facebook page — that he will oppose a bill by conservative Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Penn., that would expand background checks to include people attempting to buy firearms from private individuals at gun shows or on the Internet. The bill is being offered as a compromise to amend a bill with a more sweeping background check requirement.

But Flake said on his Facebook page that he believes the bill would still go too far.

“Manchin-Toomey would expand background checks far beyond commercial sales to include almost all private transfers — including between friends and neighbors — if the posting or display of the ad for a firearm was made public,” Flake said in his posting. “It would likely even extend to message boards, like the one in an office kitchen. This simply goes too far.”

Kelly still thinks he can persuade Flake to come around on the Manchin-Toomey amendment “when I talk to him about why his concerns are unfounded.”

If that doesn’t work, then maybe the Orange, New Jersey native will threaten to hold his breathe and stomp his feet to get his way. For some reason I think that is destined to failure as well.

NSSF – No To Manchin-Toomey

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has come out strongly against the Manchin-Toomey amendment. They have issued an Action Alert aimed at retailers but applicable to all of us.

They object to prioritizing NICS checks coming from gun shows over those at retail counters and the measures that could put a FFL’s license at risk.

The U.S. Senate is expected to begin debate tomorrow on The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, S. Amdt. 715, proposed by Sens. Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Toomey (R-Pa.). This measure will slow down all storefront FFL checks on weekends by requiring that gun show checks must be COMPLETED before a non-gun show check can be completed.

Prioritizing gun show checks over storefront checks will harm storefront FFLs’ businesses. Weekends, when gun shows take place, are the busiest time for storefront FFLs who may not be able to run checks for their customers. Tell your senators that it’s unacceptable to prioritize the Second Amendment rights of private party transferees over the rights of storefront FFL customers. Congress should provide adequate resources to NICS so that ALL checks are done instantly.

While S. Amdt. 715 is not the universal background check bill opposed by 86 percent of federally licensed firearms retailers, it does not address critical product liability concerns for retailers processing private party transfers and imposes record-keeping responsibilities that could result in license revocation for even simple mistakes. Tell your senators not to put your livelihood on the line.

Call or write your U.S. senators and tell them to VOTE NO on the flawed Manchin-Toomey Amendment and on any bill that does not present real solutions to making our communities safer.

Find your elected officials here.

GRNC – Hagan Says Your Vote Doesn’t Matter

A number of people who called Sen. Kay Hagan’s office today were told by staff she planned to vote for the Manchin-Toomey amendment according to Grass Roots North Carolina. I can’t really say I’m surprised given the reports that she is one of the more frequent guests aboard Manchin’s boat Black Tie. I wouldn’t be surprised if she also uses the CCRKBA endorsement of Manchin-Toomey amendment as cover.

GRNC has issued another alert regarding Hagan’s position along with a call for people to demonstrate outside Sen. Richard Burr’s district office in Winston-Salem tomorrow.

From their alert:

Sen. Kay Hagan vows support for universal gun registration!

US Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC, GRNC-1) plans to vote for the Toomey-Manchin “compromise” amendment to S. 649 which will come up for a vote possibly as early as tomorrow. After months of sitting on the fence and testing the political waters, Sen. Hagan and her office staffers are no longer hiding behind vague comments as to her position on the bill. Several GRNC members have called Senator Hagan’s office today and the response from her staff was united: Senator Hagan will vote for the Toomey-Manchin amendment to S. 649. When several GRNC members pointed out over the phone that it may cost Hagan their votes in her re-election campaign next year, the answer from her office was simple: “you probably wouldn’t vote for her anyway”…

Toomey-Manchin “compromise” not what it appears

While some pro-gun advocates are singing the praises of the amendment, others such as David Kopel are pointing out the deceptions within. In an article published today, Kopel makes a factual observation which exposes the amendment for what it is: a complete and total sellout. In his article, Kopel makes two key points:

1. The provision which claims to outlaw national gun registration in fact authorizes a national gun registry.

2. The provision which is supposed to strengthen existing federal law protecting the interstate transportation of personal firearms in fact cripples that protection.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV, GRNC-0) is trying to push S. 649 through with no open debate, and Senator Hagan seems more than willing to vote for the bill without actually reading it and with no regard to how her constituents feel about the amendment or the bill itself. As we suspected from the beginning, her mind is made up- even before all the facts are known about the bill.

Stand with GRNC at Sen. Burr’s district office to voice your displeasure

On Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM, GRNC will be holding a demonstration at Senator Richard Burr’s district office in Winston-Salem to deliver the message that his sellout by voting for S. 659 will not be tolerated, and that if he votes for the Toomey-Manchin “compromise” described below, we will work to remove him from office. As always, please “dress for the press” — no offensive signs or clothing. Please note that firearms at demonstrations are prohibited by law. Suggested themes for signs: “Richard Burr: 2nd Amendment Sellout?” and “Burr: Vote ‘NO’ on Toomey-Manchin”. Please RSVP with number of people attending to: Volunteer@GRNC.org Yes, it’s a work day: BE THERE ANYWAY!

Burr’s office is at: 2000 West 1st St., Suite 508, Winston-Salem, NC 27104. BRING LOTS OF FRIENDS! It you live too far away from this office, visit other district offices, which can be found at: http://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

  • Call Senator Kay Hagan Tuesday between 9am-11am and voice your displeasure over her intended vote.


  • Call Senator Richard Burr and press him to vote “no” on the Toomey-Manchin amendment.

  • Attend the demonstration at Sen Burr’s office on Tuesday morning at 10:00 am!

CONTACT INFO

Senator Kay Hagan (202) 224-6342
Senator Richard Burr (202) 224-3154

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Vote “No” on Toomey-Manchin Amendment”

Sample phone message for Sens. Burr and Hagan:

Dear Senator:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will bring S. 649, the most recent scheme for universal gun registration, to the Senate floor after Easter. Be aware that I consider none of the gun control proposals in the Senate to be acceptable, and will not accept “compromise” on the issue.

Nor am I fooled by procedural machinations such as trying to amend other legislation to include a ban on so-called “assault weapons” or standard capacity magazines, either for the purpose of slipping such legislation through with less opposition, or for the purpose of giving “cover votes” to candidates who are weak on the Second Amendment.

In fact, I expect you to vote “no” to the Toomey-Manchin amendment, as well as S. 649 when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

I look forward to your support, and will closely monitor your actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,