Most Pro-Gun Provisions Stripped from Spending Bill

As Glenn Reynolds notes, “Harry Reid seems to accomplish a lot, considering he’s in the minority.” Certainly seems so, but I’ve long argued the big reason the Democrats can generally get what they want is that they are very good at using government and using process to get their preferred outcomes. Republican politicians, meanwhile, aren’t always the sharpest tacks in the box, and they are more interested in getting along and keeping the perks of office than they are about really challenging the left and learning how to play the game effectively. So here are the provisions that came out in the Senate:

• House proposal to make permanent the one-year provision restricting the federal government from prohibiting imports of curios and relics.

• House proposal to make permanent the one-year provision restricting the federal government from requiring licenses for Canada gun exports less than $500.

• House proposal to make permanent the one-year provision restricting the federal government from denying shotgun imports on the grounds they are not suitable for “sporting purposes,” if such imports have not previously been denied.

• House proposal to make permanent the one-year provision restricting the federal government from facilitating the transfer of a firearm to a known or suspected agent of a drug cartel (“Fast and Furious” provision).

• House provision preventing the Department of Justice from requiring federal firearms licensees to report on the sale of multiple long guns to the same person.

• House provision restricting the federal government from treating ammunition as “armor piercing,” except for handgun ammunition.

• House provision allowing funding to process applications for individual relief from firearms disabilities, a reversal of a funding prohibition that has been in place since 1993.

• Democratic proposal to block firearms sales to individuals on terror watch lists.

That’s quite a disappointment, but as long as the filibuster rule is what it is, neither side really is in the minority. The Dems still have the ability to block bills, and the Republicans know they’ll get blamed by the media for any shutdown that happens. Personally, I think they should go back to the rule that requires filibustering Senators to hold the floor. They can read Dostoyevski if they want, but they have to hold the floor.