UPDATE: The U.S. Senate rejected gun control bills Monday night.
In Washington, four gun control measures reached the Senate floor, forced there after a 15-hour filibuster joined by both New Jersey’s United States senators. And both rallied residents in Newark to support the long-shot bid for passage of gun control bills.
Democrats really believe they have some momentum on their side on this.
Coming off of that 15-hour filibuster last week that drew a lot of attention, they were able to get consideration for that two amendments that they are presenting today to the Senate.
One would make universal background checks mandatory for anyone trying to buy a firearm online, at a gun show, gun shop, wherever.
The other would ban firearm sales to anyone on the so-called No Fly List.
Today Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker rallied with colleagues and supporters in Newark to urge passage of the amendments.
“It’s time to end the carnage. It’s time to do something about this. And it is a lack of political will that has allowed this to continue to take place. I hope that we have pricked the conscience of the Senate and that those who truly believe, regardless of the consequences politically of what the NRA might do to them, that they will finally vote with their conscience, that there will be a profile in courage and that courage will lead us to a safer community, a safer nation, a more beloved community,” Menendez said.
Of course, Menendez joined with Booker as part of that filibuster last week, and Booker, a former Newark mayor, said that gun violence is an epidemic in urban centers like Newark.
“Please understand, every hour of every day in this country we are losing American citizen after American citizen to the horror of gun violence. Yes, there are moments which capture the media’s attention, where we lose dozens of our brothers and sisters in mass shootings. But here in communities like Newark and Camden and Trenton, in cities all across our country, we know that this is a daily reality. Literally since 9/11, we have lost over 400,000 Americans to gun violence, more than we lost in all of World War II,” Booker said.
Meanwhile, Representatives Frank Pallone and Bonnie Watson Coleman led a similar rally in Trenton today as part of this Democratic offensive.
It’s hard to find a more divisive issue in the country, even though Democrats believe they can get some Republican support for their amendments today.
Even the NRA has backed a version of the No Fly, No Buy amendment. But their version would set the bar higher for flagging someone on the No Fly List and would give a judge just three days to determine if the person was an actual threat, something the Justice Department says would be almost impossible to accomplish.
So, it’s worth noting that of the 100 gun control measures introduced in Congress in the last five years, not one has ever passed.
