Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Gun vote set for Thursday as Democrats beat back GOP-led filibuster
The Senate will hold the first key procedural vote on a bill to curb gun violence Thursday as more than a half-dozen Republicans announced that they will join with Democrats to stop any attempt to block popular legislation drafted in response to a deadly shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.
The vote would formally start the the most wide-ranging and ambitious battle over gun control in 20 years.
In scheduling the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he doesn’t know if he has sufficient support to proceed to further debate on the bill. Regardless, “we’re going to vote on this anyway,” he said. “It may take a little time, but the American people deserve a vote.”
Senate procedural rules require Reid to secure at least 60 votes to move ahead with the legislation. Republican support to proceed doesn’t guarantee final passage of the bill — just that the Senate can actually begin formal debate. Getting at least 51 senators to support a final bill will prove difficult, as the politics of the issue are especially tricky for several Senate Democrats seeking reelection in 2014 in rural and Midwestern states.
Full article: http://www.washingto … -filibuster/?hpid=z1
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - 17:34:53
The key to this bill is not so much the current bill as written which even some gun rights advocates may find inoffensive but the potential for far more severe amendments. Pay attention to what these are.