2nd Amendment - The Thune Amendment Ruse

From: National Association for Gun Rights Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 Subject: The Thune Amendment Ruse

The Thune Amendment: Welcome to the Masquerade

A few weeks back, I sent you an email about the NRA's national concealed carry bill that certain Republicans were trying to attach to the speech-regulating "hate crimes" legislation.

In that message, I wrote about many of the dangers posed by the NRA's original proposal to federalize our CCW system -- and they are myriad.

(I've provided a link to NAGR's original statement on the problems with the NRA's plan at the bottom of this email in case you want to read or reread it.)

But just last week, there was a new national reciprocity bill on gun owners' minds -- and on the Senate floor: The Thune amendment.

As you probably know, it failed by two votes.

And I'd like to tell you why.

It wasn't a "lack of unity" in the Republican party that led to the Thune amendment's 58-39 demise: The Thune amendment was never supposed to pass.

The entire process was calculated to fail by faux Republicans and vulnerable Democrats scheming together -- but only after dozens of anti-gunners on both sides of the aisle could exploit the chance to dissemble on the record as gun rights supporters.

It's Washington politics at its finest -- voting "yes" on an ostensibly pro-gun bill orchestrated to die just short of the needed number of votes, but that could still be used to dupe constituents.

This is what happened in a nutshell:

• Knowing that there are not enough votes for passage, Senator Thune proposes the amendment (as cover, we think, for all the faux gun rights supporters in the Senate) with the understanding that Harry Reid will only allow it on the floor if he can get a filibuster threat, thus rendering the amendment impossible to pass.
  
• Senator Schumer immediately threatens to filibuster (more grandstanding), so now the amendment needs 60 votes to invoke cloture.
  

  (Read between the lines here: The bill did not have enough votes to pass anyway, so all the filibuster threat did was to give these scumbags 9 more "safe" yes votes to parade around.)

• Senators Schumer and Reid secure all the nay votes needed to ensure defeat.
  
• Then, as guided by Reid and Schumer, Republican and Democrat anti-gunners (especially those in rural or conservative states) seize the opportunity to vote for something none of them actually believe in just to pacify their constituents.

"See! Look! I voted for this bill! I'm pro-gun!"

Senators were literally getting permission from Schumer and Reid to vote for the amendment -- permission because they couldn't surpass 59 votes -- lest the bill actually pass.

(Gasp!)

And remember who cooperated with this whole scheme: None other than Mr. Thune.

Great cover vote, fellas. What integrity.

Don't believe me? I'll let Luke's newest blog post -- which contains the damning snippet from the Washington Post about Mark Pryor's (D-AR) and Chuck Schumer's signal exchange on the Senate floor -- explain the rest.

Click here to read Luke's commentary and leave a comment.

In Liberty,


Dudley Brown, Executive Director

P.S. The National Association for Gun Rights can always use your help as we are completely dependent on our members' generosity. Please click here to donate.
To read or reread my earlier statement on the first national CCW bill as formulated by the NRA, click here.

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Thune Amendment; Reciprocity for the Carrying of Certain Concealed Firearms - Vote Rejected (58-39, 3 Not Voting)

The Senate could not reach the necessary sixty votes to include this gun provision in the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would have allowed citizens who have concealed carry permits from their states to carry concealed firearms in another state that grants concealed carry permits.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Sen. Barbara Boxer voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

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