How Tom DeLay and John Dingell nuked post-Columbine gun control efforts
This is a fascinating 'inside baseball' account, regardless if you're pro gun rights or pro gun control. If you're interested in learning why the NRA came out in favor of background checks at gun shows following the Columbine massacre, the article reveals their motives.
In the wake of Columbine most of the republican leadership, in both chambers, was ready to cave on gun control. Specifically, a bill that would have effectively banned gun shows in the United States almost became law. Senate Majority leader Trent Lott and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert were both on board, along with several other prominent republicans. The story is told from the viewpoint of a republican staffer who worked with DeLay to derail that the process with a big assist from John Dingell.
They almost succeeded.
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In the aftermath of the shooting, Sen. C. Trent Lott Sr., (R.-Miss.), the majority leader, led his other GOP senators, such as Sen. Charles T. Hagel (R.-Neb.) to pass a gun control bill before the Memorial Day recess. It was that a number of formally stalwart supporters of the Second Amendment were piling on.
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a longtime foe of gun control bills, had introduced his Juvenile Crime Bill in Jan. 20, 1999, but it languished until it became the vehicle to exploit the Columbine tragedy.
Lott scheduled the gun show ban legislation in haste. No committee hearings. No mark-ups.
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By May 20, after 10 days of debate, the Senate passed, with Vice President Albert A. Gore Jr., casting the deciding vote for the “Gun Show Sale Regulation Amendment,” sponsored by Lautenberg. The amendment would define a gun show as an event with 10 vendors with 50 guns for sale, and it would require all participants, including customers, to be registered with completed background checks before any steps towards planning the gun show could begin.
If the provision went into law, the gun show would simply gone away. The most dramatic restriction of gun rights since the Gun Control Act of 1968. It was a political hot potato tossed to the House and the pressure was building to pass the bill before the Memorial Day recess.
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Its a bit of a long read and I didn't want to copy/paste the entire thing here. If you're interested in learning how the political game unfolded, regardless of the source, click the link above.
While watching House of Cards, Kevin Spacey's character Frank Underwood reminded me a lot of Tom DeLay. Reading this article only reinforces that notion.
= new reply since forum marked as read
He's not the author. He's is/was a lobbyist who worked under Donald Nickles.
Lobbyist C. Stewart Verdery was the counsel for Sen. Donald L. Nickles (R.-Okla.) helping Nickles and other GOP senators pass gun control legislation after the Columbine massacre. After the House passed its bill with the Dingell amendment, Verdery tried to pressure House Republicans to revive the bill in conference.
