A well-placed source in the Senate has advised that the much-reviled DISCLOSE Act is apparently going to be resurrected again Wednesday for debate with a possible vote on Thursday.
As this was written late Tuesday afternoon, Roll Call had not confirmed it on their website. However, the Washington Independent is confirming that a vote on the DISCLOSE Act could happen Thursday.
Furor over the DISCLOSE Act erupted earlier this year when it was revealed that the architects had carved out an exemption for the National Rifle Association. This column discussed that situation here and here, before the Act was amended to allow expanded exemptions that would have applied to smaller gun rights groups like the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Despite rumors that it might be stripped down to its essential elements mandating donor disclosure on campaign spending, it looks as if the bill will be identical to the one that was introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in late July and failed to overcome a Republican filibuster. If you’re hoping to get the bill passed, and you’re hoping that either GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins of Maine might sign on, this fact is not a particularly encouraging one.-Washington Independent
However, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb at the time said the Senate Democrats who offered that amendment could “pound sand.” He reiterated that sentiment moments before this column was written.
“We still oppose the legislation,” Gottlieb said adamantly.
Fury over the DISCLOSE Act reportedly caused a lot of headaches at the NRA, despite the organization’s explanation that its first and foremost responsibility was to take advantage of any opportunity that would give its members a voice during the upcoming election cycle. Had there been no exemption offered, the NRA could be silenced at a critical moment, the 4-million member organization maintained. Still, perennial NRA critics called the exemption a sell-out, and they spread that word around to apply both to the NRA and to Democrats who were so desperate to pass the measure that they were willing to give the NRA an out not initially offered to any other gun rights group because of membership provisions in the bill's language.
Odds of passage remain iffy at best. The measure was defeated 57-41 earlier this year after all of the fireworks over the NRA exemption. Sources say privately that it appears Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled votes on the Senate floor on issues that are supported by the Democrat party base.
Gottlieb told this column that the DISCLOSE Act controversy, especially now that it appears to be coming back to life, will certainly be a topic of discussion at this weekend’s Gun Rights Policy Conference in San Francisco, which this column discussed yesterday.
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