President Obama can make new rules all he wants, but that doesn’t mean Congress has to fund implementation of them. Among the items is a rider preventing ATF from spending funds on reporting requirements for long guns, preventing implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, and preventing ATF from requiring dealers to report their inventory. Additionally, it looks like a few anti-gun proposals were shot down, including denying people their Second Amendment rights due to their inclusion on a secret government list. This is a battle fought every year, because the White House can’t easily veto the whole budget, but he can more easily veto permanent legislative fixes.
Pro-Gun Appropriations Do Well in House
This article is a perfect example of the way to attack these issues.
If the Senate goes GOP, you must remember that the key to getting forward traction on anything gun related is attaching amendments to “must-sign” bills that Obama cannot veto. We do not want pro-gun bills. We need pro-gun amendments.
Read that two times more, then repeat to all of your friends. Make sure all of us are ready with the words every time we talk to a member of congress who claims to be pro-gun.
We do not want a Reciprocity Bill to pass the House and Senate. It will be vetoed by Obama. All fluff for the voters and no outcome. Read that again and do the math on the Congress if the GOP wins big and every blue dog helps us out…we still cannot overcome a Presidential veto. Even the most squishy pro-gun legislator will vote for these bills because they have zero chance of being enacted into law. None. Nada. Zip.
Instead, we absolutely require a National Reciprocity Amendment to be attached to the Dream Act, or the authorization bill for the EPA, or anything that let’s the President spend money. It is hard for him to walk away from a checkbook.
When you see the “Everything I Want From Congress Gun Bill”, you need to run to your phones and start yelling about how you won’t be fooled by the critters. Demand they attach the bill as an amendment to something Obama just cannot veto.
If they won’t do it, work against them in the next election, because they are worse than the anti-rights crowd. At least Schumer/Pelosi will tell you “you suck” to your face. There is nothing lower than a “pro-gun” lawmaker who uses subterfuge to deny us our rights. And putting forward anything that they know will never get enacted into law (vetoed) not doing good work.
All excellent points.
Well put!
Seems to me they just look at it as a big box of money and spend it however they like. Who’s gonna stop them? Nobody.