Reports of 'gun lobby' death are greatly exaggerated

March 4, 5:11 PMCharlotte Gun Rights ExaminerPaul Valone

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Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Given the reaction of congressional leaders to NRA-backed amendments to the D.C. Voting Rights Act, reports of the death of gun voters’ influence may be equally premature.

After the last election, the “Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence” (aka “Handgun Control) celebrated by saying:

“The election was a major victory for common sense gun laws, and a powerful rebuke of the gun lobby and its ‘any gun, anywhere’ agenda. The results demonstrated (and not for the first time) that Americans support candidates who favor a sensible gun policy that keeps dangerous guns out of the hands of dangerous people …”

Far from a congressional “rebuke of the gun lobby,” however, Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both shot down the Obama administration trial balloon for re-implementing the “assault weapon” ban.

Almost simultaneously, the NRA was able to add language to the Senate version of the D.C. Voting Rights Act stripping the district of its gun registration requirement, semi-auto ban and mandatory gun storage law. The 62 – 36 victory, which drew a variety of “Blue Dog” Democrats, sent gun control advocates scrambling to strip the measure from House versions of the bill.

Said capitol watchdog, The Hill, yesterday in a piece entitled "NRA forces Pelosi retreat":

“Democrats may be running the House, but the National Rifle Association (NRA) can still stop a bill in its tracks.”

Unlike the Senate, House leaders were fully prepared to pass a version of the bill without the gun amendment, enabling a conference committee, tasked with resolving differences in House and Senate versions, to keep the measure out of the final bill … that is, until the NRA quietly hinted that procedural votes related to the measure would be considered “test votes,” potentially placing Democrats’ NRA “A” ratings at risk.

Now the bill is on hold, and its advocates are decidedly unhappy: Said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), “Members are reacting in knee-jerk fashion to the NRA.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pronounced the tactic, “not appropriate.”

Of the various DC Council members, liberal activists and gun control notables who gathered to protest the NRA action, the most amusing admission came from Dennis Henigan, Vice President of the Brady Center:

“It was a craven political decision to place at risk the jeopardy [sic] of this community in order to curry favor with the gun lobby.”

To see the video, click here.

Whatever your position on the D.C. Voting Rights Act, the fact that politicians still “curry favor with the gun lobby” – meaning you – indicates that your influence is very much alive and kicking.
 

Austin Gun Rights Examiner Howard Nemerov will be on NRA News' flagship program "Cam & Company" Wednesday night at 11:20pm Eastern to talk about his article TSRA annual meeting: moving liberty forward.

Visit www.NRANews.com to listen live to the broadcast! If you miss the show, you can listen to an archived edition until the the next live edition of "Cam & Company" airs.