Susan Collins Unveils a Gun-Control Compromise
Source: The Atlantic
All of us are united in our desire to getting something significant done on this vital issue, Collins said at an afternoon press conference, flanked by seven Democratic and Republican senators who worked on the legislation. Surely the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and in Orlando that took so many lives are a call for compromise, a plea for bipartisan action.
In a white paper, Collinss office described the major provisions of the amendment: It prohibits gun sales to people on two terrorist watch lists, including the No Fly List; it allows for American citizens and green-card holders to appeal if their purchase is restricted and to get attorney fees recouped if they win; and it includes a look-back provision that requires FBI notification if someone whos recently appeared in a broader terrorism database buys a gun. At the press conference, Collins noted that the total number of people on the two restricted lists is roughly 100,000, most of whom are foreign nationals.
The New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte emphasized that the legislation protects Americans due-process rights, a major concern among Republicans who voted against a Democratic bill restricting sales on Monday. That proposal prohibited sales to more people than the Collins bill does. Senate Republicans preferred a measure that would have forced the FBI to get a court order when officials wanted to stop a suspected terrorist from buying a gun. Florida Representative David Jolly, a Republican, introduced legislation in the House Tuesday that would also address due-process worries.
Collinss proposal comes as congressional lawmakers have faced criticism for their inaction in the wake of mass shootings. Democrats, including President Obama, have pushed those critiques, and they lamented Mondays failed votes. But all were designed to fall short and therefore demonstrate a lack of consensus in the Senate on guns, as Russell Berman reported this week. Republican leaders subjected each of the four amendments to 60-vote threshold and rallied their members around proposals backed by the NRA. On Tuesday, senators pushed their fellow members to see value in a bipartisan proposal. The Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine suggested gun victims would be waiting forever if Democrats and Republicans were to wait for their ideal bills to be passed.
Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/susan-collins-gun-control-compromise/488120/
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)MisterFred
(525 posts)I wonder if it'll pass.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)Baby steps.
WHO: U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME)
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
FYI- Sen. Collins' bipartisan bill blocks gun sales to both No Fly and Selectee lists - about 2,700 Americans and 109,000 total persons
SeattleVet
(5,477 posts)I share a name with a few hundred other people in the country. One of them may have done something at some time to raise suspicions, so for the past 15 years every time I try to fly I get a boarding pass with a series of 'S's' across the bottom, and have to undergo 'enhanced screening' as a 'Selectee'. I haven't had even a simple traffic ticket since 1976.
Usual routine: "Please step behind the screen. Please unbuckle your belt and open the front of your pants. Stand here with your arms out and legs spread. I'm going to touch you *here* now...", all the while spreading most of the contents of my carry-on out on a table.
I have a metal plate in my leg, and that usually gets a reaction when they wand it, too. One guy grabbed my leg, felt nothing but flesh (the plate was installed in the mid-70's after I broke my femur) and realized that he should NOT have grabbed me that way...apologized to hell and back, but I think he was worried about what it was going to look like I complained and they reviewed the video of the screening area.
How are they going to verify that the 'name on the list' is actually the person that is *supposed* to be on their list? I can see several major lawsuits in the future if they try to do it this way. There are probably a few thousand on that list that are only there by virtue of having the same name as someone else. Allowing someone to file for reimbursement of attorney fees after being cleared isn't 'just compensation' for wasted time and hassle. If the list was 'clean' to begin with it wouldn't be such a problem, but I've spent the past 15 years essentially getting a strip search any time I try to board a commercial flight, and know that there are gross errors in their list.
friendly_iconoclast
(15,333 posts)Concerns about the no-fly list are now inoperative, and have been ever since
the letter after the name of the person residing in the White House changed.
SeattleVet
(5,477 posts)pointing at them and saying, "This is not the selectee you're looking for" doesn't seem to work at all.
TwilightZone
(25,454 posts)"almost completely worthless".
bucolic_frolic
(43,115 posts)Look! We DID something! On guns!!!
vkkv
(3,384 posts)even a word about "due process" !!!
God DAMN they piss me off.