It’s probably a harbinger of sell-outs to come. But Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell is apparently about to conclude an agreement with Majority Leader Harry Reid which would sell out pro-gunners and decimate minority rights under the Senate rules.
This change could occur as early as Wednesday. If enacted, it could handcuff pro-gun forces and keep them from defeating the most radical initiatives aimed at restricting our Second Amendment rights.
The first of two changes would allow Harry Reid -– and only Harry Reid –- to circumvent the hurdles that the minority could use to slow down a controversial gun control bill.
As you may remember from the fight over the anti-gun ObamaCare bill, the filibuster of the “motion to proceed” is the last point where pro-gunners can delay a bill before Harry Reid can bribe Senators and buy votes with deals like the infamous Cornhusker Kickback.
If Reid follows this procedure, McConnell could offer two “germane” amendments on behalf of Republicans. But given the willingness of Democrats to destroy the Senate rules by brute force, you can expect them to drastically limit what amendments would be considered “germane,” thus restricting the ability of the minority to effectively filibuster an anti-gun bill.
The second Reid-McConnell amendment would make it virtually impossible to stop a bill from going to House-Senate conference committee.
Currently, if pro-gunners suspect that Democrats intend to take a tiny bill and write comprehensive gun control in a House-Senate conference, they can stop the bill from going to conference and require that it be bounced back-and-forth in an amendable form — what is known as ping-ponging — between the two houses.
But this Reid-McConnell change would allow Reid to force a conference to prevent the minority from, once again, stopping gun control legislation from being written in a conference committee and crammed down Senators’ throats on a take-it-or-leave it basis.
The bottom line? Given that Harry Reid has consistently abused the Senate rules and locked Republicans out of the amendment process, why should McConnell reward him with this massive expansion of his powers?
And what does this say about the likelihood that McConnell will show any courage on the gun issue when it comes before the U.S. Senate?
The President and his allies in the Congress want to impose Universal Background Checks, among other things, upon every gun purchaser in America. This would finally give gun grabbers the information they need to identify and register every gun buyer (whether the purchase was completed as a private sale or through a gun dealer).
Given that the Democrats in New York are trying to CONFISCATE guns from law-abiding gun owners, gun owners should rise with ONE VOICE in opposing any legislation or rules changes that would allow federal bureaucrats to register gun owners.
And more to the point, gun owners need to contact their Senators immediately and demand that they leave the Senate rules alone!
At the rate that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is going — if he concludes a deal limiting the use of the filibuster — it would not be surprising if a number of primary opponents emerge to challenge him.
ACTION: Click here to contact your U.S. Senators immediately. While you can contact them here through CapWiz, we would strongly encourage you to call your Senators and DEMAND that they leave the filibuster alone!
You can reach them by calling the U.S. Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121. And, please call Sen. Mitch McConnell (202-224-2541) and tell him to make NO DEALS to limit the use of the filibuster.
(202) 225-0600
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