Plenty of ink (and not a little hot air) has been expended over yesterday’s US Senate vote on the “Thune Amendment” to the National Defense Authorization Act. Introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and much-ballyhooed by the NRA, the amendment would have created national reciprocity between states with concealed carry laws, enabling concealed handgun permit-holders to protect themselves and their families during interstate travel.
(Side note: Sixty votes – for “cloture” – were required for passage rather than the usual 51 due to a threatened filibuster by perennially anti-gun Sen. Charles Schumer. In the gentile land of the US Senate, threats routinely substitute for real action.)
Despite hand-wringing by The Washington Post that “Democrats Fear Defections on GOP Gun Proposal,” rest assured that Harry Reid almost certainly engineered every Democrat vote for or against the measure.
So why did Reid engage in such Vaudeville slight-of-hand? Did he schedule the vote to “show his commitment to gun rights”? After all, he insists his intentions are pure:
“This has nothing to do with electoral politics,” assured Reid spokesman Jim Manley, according to politico.com: “Harry Reid has always supported gun rights and intends to do so in the future.”
Yeah, right. In reality, Reid is vulnerable in his 2010 re-election bid and, consequently, threw the NRA a very small bone.
And what does the NRA get? The appearance of accomplishing something – if not actual passage of the amendment, at least a recorded vote which purports to show who’s “fer ya” and “agin ya.” More action means more NRA members and more money. Read more
Source: Charlotte Gun Rights Examiner
