Feinstein has found her vehicle: AWB2 is near inevitable.

[Langenator]

Keep writing, phoning, emailing, faxing and all that good stuff folks...

But like El T said...be frosty.

Last I checked, Congress is only actually in session Tues-Thurs. Nothing happened today, so the Republic is safe until next week while all the Congresscritters scurry back home to beg for donations to their campaign funds.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

This bill passed in the House without any riders and will be brought up in the Senate soon. It has not been touched by the Senate yet.

H.R. 218 is similar in language to S.253RS, which was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 26th of this year without any antigun amendments.

Feinstein, who is both a member of the Judiciary committee and a sponsor of this bill, did not attempt to amend S.253 in committee. She can still amend it from the floor should it come up for debate; so it doesn't hurt to stay vigilant; but so far I haven't seen any schedule for a floor vote or debate on this bill. I also haven't seen alerts from anyone but the MMM and that alert suggested that Feinstein would attempt to amend the class action lawsuit reform bill rather than this one.

Rather than be too specific and be wrong, I'd keep my letters to Congresscritters broad - "No semi auto renewal ban period. I don't care if it is attached to a bill providing free gumdrops and back rubs to every citizen of the U.S."

 

[tyme]

I think the concern is this:

H.R. 218 just passed the House.
S.253 has been sitting in committee in the Senate for over a year.

If S.253 gets reported out of committee, Feinstein might try to attach the AWB2 as an amendment. At that point, a joint committee irons out the differences between H.R.218 and S.253+AWB2.

There are still three places to get this sunk, if Feinstein tries that. The Senate could vote "no" on attaching the AWB2 rider. The senate could vote "no" on S.253 even if the rider gets attached. The joint committee could also remove the rider before approving the bill.

 

[VaniB.]

Man, you negative guys.....CHILL OUT, WILL YA!!?

The chances are excellent we'll win. BUT YA GOTTA LET YOUR LEGISLATORS HEAR FROM YA, so they will continue to do what they like to do best....NOTHING! Regaining our important rights can't get any easier then that. It's not like they have to take the initiative to enact or repeal something special for us.

Yea, I'm a little worried about the unknown too, BUT THE GREATER ODDS OF VICTORY ARE WITH US !!!!! So hang tight, and stop panicking, will ya.

 

[ScottS]

Kudos to Bartholomew Roberts for his excellent legislative recap of the current bills.

Scott

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I suspect an AWB renewal would cost G.W. his second term and definitely the dems would gain a number of seats in congress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exactly why the Dems want to bring this issue up.

Also exactly why we have so many trolls on this and other gun boards pushing the issue.

 

[Pilgrim]

senator diane should be very careful about meddling with H.R. 218 or S. 253. A great deal of her political power in the PDRK comes from the law enforcement and correctional officer unions.

Pilgrim

 

[Obiwan]

sent off letters to all three of my reps/sens.

They are all pretty steady but it never hurts to add to the plus pile in their mail stack.

Also faxed both offices for each

 

[hillbilly]

Knife Sniper, remember.

The Gun Industry Lawsuit Pre-emption bill had MASSIVE, bi-partisan support in the Senate.

But once the AWB extension got attached, that Lawsuit Pre-emption died a quick death to the tune of 90 votes against, and only 8 for.

Any bill that the AWB Extension gets attached to is immediately doomed.

hillbilly

 

[stuckindc]

S.253 has much more support than S.659

I wouldn't say there was massive bipartisan support for the lawful commerce in firearms act. There were 55 cosponosrs but only like 8 Democrats. S 253 has 71 cosponsors with like 25 Democrats including people like Kerry, Clinton, and Schumer. While I don't think Feinstein will use this is a vehicle, I do think it may have an easier path to passage than S.659 did.

 

[greyhound]

It has 70 co sponsors in the Senate,

Yikes. Then again, as was mentioned, this might mean pressure not to monkey with it.

Here's a thought - even if the AWB sunsets, does anyone else think that Feinstein, Kerry, etc are going to keep pushing for a new one? Yes, I know its harder to pass a new one than renew the old, but still, I wish the antis would just let it go (wishful thinking).

So I don't think the fight ends Sept. 13.

Its like the lawsuits against the tobacco companies - lose,lose,lose over and over until finally the right set of circumstances presents itself and the floodgates open.

 

[ScottS]

There were 55 cosponosrs but only like 8 Democrats.

Co-sponsors is not the only, or even best, measure of support. On the initial straw vote, I think it was more like 72 for. I know they had a fillibuster-proof majority.

Scott

 

[burbanite]

I have called, written and emailed my idiots until it seems like I am a man possessed, in return I get mountains of the usual form letters, "blah, blah blah, thank you for input etc..."

That is until today. This morning I received this reply from Evan Bayh, don't really know what to make of it. Is it just another form letter that is triggered by a preset number of contacts or did I actually flood him enough that someone took notice? Didn't change his mind but I would like to think that a person is actually reading what I write. Keep it up, you never know what set of circumstances may arise where your comments are recalled.


Mr. Steve *****
145 North ***** Street
**********, Indiana 46077-1436

Dear Mr. *****:

Thanks for writing me again. I'm sorry that you didn't find
my answer to be satisfactory. I do my best to ensure that any
question is answered as best as I can, even when the issues are
complex.

When I make a decision, I try to gather as much
information as possible and listen to the concerns of my
constituents in order to make a decision that I think is right. I hope
that most often, the positions I take are consistent with your views.

On those decisions where we disagree, I hope you will not
be discouraged from continuing to contact me. Because, at the end
of the day, democracy works best when people's voices are heard
by their representatives.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope the information
I have provided is helpful. My website, http://bayh.senate.gov, can
provide additional details about legislation and state projects that
may be of interest to you. I value your input and hope you will
continue to keep me informed of the issues important to you.

Best wishes,





Evan Bayh
United States Senator

 

[dshimm]

A crappy rider attached to a crappy bill.