URGENT: CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY

[armaborealis]

If you have been following the news, a major gun control bill is coming up for consideration in the US Senate.

The bill goes through several steps before it can become law.

1 - MOTION TO PROCEED (requires 60 votes in Senate). This opens debate. This will almost certainly pass.
2 - AMENDMENTS (each amendment requires a simple majority). The Senate Majority leader has a tremendous amount of control in which amendments get considered. Sen Reid (Democrat) can stiff-arm GOP amendments and prevent them from being considered. Each amendment requires only a simple majority to adopt. Because of the Majority Leader's control over this process I doubt we will see "poison pills" such as nationwide CWP reciprocity, repeal of Hughes amendment, etc added at this stage. NRA will be scoring these votes.
3 - CLOTURE (60 votes). This closes debate. This is a critical vote as it requires 60 votes. NRA will be scoring this vote too.
4 - FINAL PASSAGE IN SENATE (simple majority). After debate is closed, a simple majority is necessary to approve the bill in its final form.

The bill then goes to the House, and who knows what happens.

It is absolutely CRITICAL that you contact Sen Scott & Sen Graham ASAP. Tell them to (1) oppose S649, (2) vote against any anti-gun amendments including the Schumer-Manchin-Toomey amendment, and (3) oppose cloture on the final bill.

You can email, call, or fax. I suggest an email and a call.

TIM SCOTT: http://www.scott.senate.gov/contact.cfm
LINDSAY GRAHAM: http://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/in ... atorGraham

DO NOT ASSUME THE HOUSE WILL SAVE OUR 2A RIGHTS. We want the most pro-gun (or least anti-gun bill) possible to get out of the Senate. Then it can be watered down even more in the House, and hopefully some good pro-gun stuff can be added. This is a critical time to make a phone call.

 

[John Canuck]

As expected, Sen Graham is thus far playing right into the hands of the gun grabbers.

 

[HarperJt]

Graham is a joke. He is not a conservative. He just loves the power in lime light. I guess they?re going to be a back door (no pun intended "Graham") gun registry, and then comes the gun confiscation. It's a shame I didn't have a smiley face bent over to choose from :?

 

[kg4kpg]

These Republicans voted yes to proceed on gun control legislation. Guess my email to Graham didn't work. :roll:

Lamar Alexander
Kelly Ayotte
Richard Burr
Saxby Chambliss
Tom Coburn
Susan Collins
Bob Corker
Jeff Flake
LINDSEY GRAHAM
Dean Heller
John Hoeven
Johnny Isakson
Mark Kirk
John McCain
Pat Toomy
Roger Wicker

 

[PANZER22]

Looks like Graham is not going to get any more support or a vote from me....Same for all the others.


Like Hitler, Obama will eventually get all the guns then all of us will be shouting Sig hail to the chief.........Socialism, Nazism what's the difference?

***?This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!? - Adolph Hitler, 1935, on The Weapons Act of Nazi Germany****

 

[armaborealis]

To be fair, a lot of the Rs voted "yes" on the motion to proceed (step #1 on the chart I outlined above) for strategic political reasons.

On one hand it is offensive to even entertain legislation repugnant to the Constitution. Would they vote "yes" on a motion to proceed with consideration of, say, a bill to put all Muslims in jail (yay violating the 1A!), the best way to quarter soldiers in private homes (3A), or how to enslave minority groups (13A)?

On the other hand, opening the debate on the Senate floor puts a lot of Dems in a tough position. The Dems from rural states are in a no-win situation. They have to vote on all these amendments and go on record. If they vote for things like an AWB amendment their voters back home will crucify them. If they oppose the AWB and similar amendments then liberal Democrat donors will cut them off and they may get primaried from the left with Bloomberg's money. The GOP hopes that at least a few rural Democrats will lose their seats over this. Of course, they are playing political games with a core right, which is problematic, but it could well put some Dems on record one way or another and lead to GOP gains in the Senate in 2014 which would be big.

The bill still takes 60 votes to advance once amendments are done.

Contact Sen Graham again and tell him "NO" on cloture and "NO" on the Schumer-Manchin-Toomey compromise amendment.

 

[armaborealis]

PILEON:

This is the explanation from Sen Graham's site about why he voted to open the debate.

WASHINGTON ? U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the Senate now moving to debate gun control.

?I welcome a debate on the Second Amendment in the United States Senate. I want to proceed to this bill. I want to debate it. I am not afraid.

?Some have asked why I opposed filibustering a procedural motion to move forward. Here?s my reasoning.

Many Senators have refused to even take a position on some of these issues for fear of angering one side or the other. There?s only one way to see where Senators actually stand ? make them vote.

Filibustering right now means Senators get a free pass. Some politicians? dream scenario is one where they don?t actually have to vote For or Against a proposal but can tell each side they were with them all along. Again, let?s make Senators vote.

Nothing the Democrats are proposing would have prevented the Sandy Hook massacre. We need Senators on record. Do you support these proposals?

The legislation can still be filibustered after today in the United States Senate. And even if gun control legislation passes the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate it is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Finally, I have my own legislation, supported by the NRA, which I want to bring forward in the Senate. My legislation would make a real difference in keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

It?s designed to prevent individuals like Alice Boland, a mentally disturbed individual who once pled ?Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity? in federal court for threatening to kill the President of the United States from legally buying a firearm. Under current law, she was able to pass a background check, buy a pistol, and go to Ashley Hall School in Charleston where she tried to shoot several school officials. One bullet in her hands is one too many.

?Again, I welcome a debate on gun control and you should too. The American people deserve to see where their elected representatives stand on the Second Amendment. Let?s vote.?

Sen Coburn said much the same. They want to get rural dems on record.

I would still write Sen Graham and tell him the Schumer-Toomey-Manchin compromise is poison in case he gets weak in the knees.

Harry Reid had a 2-hr caucus lunch scheduled today, then the Senate was supposed to move into amendments. The 2-hr lunch stretched to 6.5 and then they adjourned for the weekend. That tells me that Reid didn't have the votes to get anything through and needs to twist arms all weekend. That is good news but we need to keep hammering our Senators.

 

[John Canuck]

There certainly is an upside to forcing "them" to vote with or against "their" party. Since the party of the right can't seem to agree on much of anything, it benefits all to force the only other option to argue amongst themselves for a while.

It's my opinion that there was never any real plan to actually do a standing filibuster. Just saying one was planned forced the gun grabbers to either suffer through it, negotiate, give up or amend their language. Regardless of the outcome, disrupting their PR campaign and changing the dynamic has forced them to at least put a timeline to it. The pressure is now on them to get the votes quick.

 

[LiveFreeorDie]

FWIW, I concur with armaborealis and Canuck--It's too early to throw Graham under the bus as a traitor. He only voted to proceed and that is part of his strategy in the intricate and complex political maneuvering required on this issue. The real tests are coming in the next two weeks as they introduce, debate, and actually cast votes on bills and amendments. This is just process at the moment. Let's wait and see.....

 

[John Canuck]

I'll wait and see what happens with Graham. Other fish to fry right now. There are ample reasons not to like him, but unfortunelty, in order to primary him out, you need someone to run against him.

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign- ... -candidate

It would be nice if there were a third party type that could compete, but the Tea Party blew their load in a year's worth of angry ranting, and have faded. You might even get a D who is more freedom and liberty oriented, but that has problems of its own, among them the requirement to have the likes if Reid and Pelosi lead you around by the balls.

 

[fordnut]

Got this reply from Senator Graham....Guess I will wait on his vote...:

Dear Friends,

I believe every senator should be required to go on the record about their views on the Second Amendment.

And yesterday, I voted for a procedural motion to require senators to go on the record about where they stand on gun control. I believe the American people deserve to know where the Senate stands on this issue.

I want to debate and I want to vote. I?m not afraid to show my support for the Second Amendment.

Here's why:

? Many senators have refused to take a position on some of these gun control issues for fear of angering one side or the other. There?s only one way to see where Senators actually stand on the Second Amendment ? make them vote.



? We still have the ability to filibuster and subject any gun control legislation to the 60 vote threshold in the United States Senate.



? Filibustering, before the debate even begins, means many senators get a free pass. Some politicians? dream scenario is one where they don?t actually have to vote FOR or AGAINST a gun control proposal but can tell each side they were with them all along. Again, let?s make senators vote.



? Nothing the Democrats are proposing in their gun control bill would have prevented the Sandy Hook massacre. We need senators on record. Do you support these gun control measures?



? Finally, I have my own legislation, supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which I want to bring forward in the Senate. My legislation would make a real difference in keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

It?s designed to prevent individuals like Alice Boland, a mentally disturbed individual who once pled ?Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity? in federal court for threatening to kill the President of the United States from legally buying a firearm. Under current law, she was able to pass a background check, buy a pistol, and go to Ashley Hall School in Charleston where she tried to shoot several school officials. One bullet in her hands is one too many.

Again, as a strong supporter of the Second Amendment I welcome a debate on gun control. The American people deserve to see where their elected representatives stand on the Second Amendment.

Let?s vote.





Sincerely,

Lindsey O. Graham
United States Senator


Steve

 

[John Canuck]

Barf bag alert. I'm about to insert a link to Buzzfeed. If you can stomach it, they lay out the plan for getting gun control out of the Senate.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/he ... h-the-sena

Sorry.

 

[armaborealis]

Barf bag alert. I'm about to insert a link to Buzzfeed. If you can stomach it, they lay out the plan for getting gun control out of the Senate.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/he ... h-the-sena

Sorry.

No, that actually makes a lot of sense. Understand the threat...

The Schumer-Manchin-Toomey compromise is bad for us. We get very little while giving up a lot. I'd like to see if get watered down even more or have something like National CCW reciprocity tacked on before it even leaves the Senate, if it leaves the Senate.

It looks like this fight is going to drag out some what. DON'T LET UP THE PRESSURE. Keep calling or emailing. Every few days is NOT too much while this is on the floor for consideration. The call can be a quick 30 second deal. You can even call after business hours and just dump a message into voicemail if you don't feel like talking to a staffer.

 

[John Canuck]

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/34 ... na-johnson

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham announced earlier today that he will vote against the compromise amendment proposed last week by senators Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin, which would expand criminal background checks to all advertised gun sales. Graham announced his decision on Twitter, arguing that the bill is ?well-intentioned? but does not constitute ?a solution to illegal gun violence?

 

[armaborealis]

Bump for liberty.

The deal is being put together over the next 48 hrs and Sen Reid hopes to have votes by Thursday.

Sen Graham has said he won't oppose the bill right now but he may need some reinforcement. Please call him.

Additionally, you can call Senators from outside your state. Organizing for Action (Obama's election campaign group) has said they plan on packing voice mail boxes and I can guarantee you that they are influencing Senators across state lines. Mayor Bloomberg is freely pushing his cash into states outside NY too. Please pick up the phone and make at least one quick 60 second call to a critical Senator. Staffers tally up the "for" and "against" calls and assume that each call represents may voters. It may not work, but do not surrender your voice at the soap box and ballot box! Giving up is guaranteed to fail every time.

Talking points:
- I oppose all gun control.
- I oppose Sen Reid's gun control bill, S649.
- I oppose The Schumer-Manchin-Toomey gun control amendment.
- I support National Concealed carry reciprocity.
- I suppose S480, the bipartisan Begich-Graham bill which helps fix the broken background check system.
- Optional: I support Sen Coburn's common sense background check bill that empowers citizens to make wise choices.

You can call the Senate Switchboard here and get directed to any Senator's office: (202) 224 3121

First, RINOs planning on supporting the bill. Contact them ask them to reconsider!

John McCain (202) 224-2235
Susan Collins (202) 224-2523
Mark Kirk (202) 224-2854

Now, the wobblers who may be swayed:
Jeff Flake (202) 224-4521
Bob Corker (202) 224-3344
Kelly Ayotte (202) 224-3324
Heidi Heitkamp (202) 224-2043
Max Baucus (202) 224-2651
Mark Pryor (202) 224-2353
Mark Begich (202) 224-3004
Mary Landrieu (202) 224-5824

Finally, THANK these senators who are opposing the bill!
Lindsey Graham (202) 224-5972
Johnny Isakson (202) 224-3643
Saxby Chambliss (202) 224-3521
Tom Coburn (202) 224-5754
Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944
Richard Burr (202) 224-3154
John Hoeven (202) 224-2551

 

[armaborealis]

UPDATE: Sen Reid has tentatively scheduled a vote tomorrow afternoon around four PM EST.

There is still time to make your voice heard! If a Senator's main voice mail is full, a quick google search will turn up the phone numbers for their district office. Call those too.