Rep. McCarthy introducing national gun control legislation following Sen. Schumer’s lead

[TPaine7]

A House bill that could drastically overhaul the nation’s gun control laws and strengthen federal power over states’ handling of individuals’ background checks is expected to be introduced today by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, The Daily Caller has learned.

McCarthy is expected to drop the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 — a  near-identical companion to that of fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer’s Senate bill — according to sources familiar with the legislation.

...

Two days after Obama’s op-ed, Schumer — along with McCarthy, Bloomberg and several other leading Democrats — held a press conference in front of the Capitol to push for more gun-control legislation. At the time, McCarthy indicated she was days away from introducing her companion piece. As the weeks went by, McCarthy’s office said it was carefully reviewing the legislation and listening to various concerns.

McCarthy appears to have taken some of those concerns to heart. Conspicuously absent from the Representative’s legislation is Schumer’s controversial proposal to ban the possession of firearms to anyone who’s been arrested, but not convicted, of a drug-related crime in the past five years.

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/05/rep-mccarthy-introducing-national-gun-control-legislation-following-sen-schumers-lead/



I don't agree with much that Rep McCarthy does with respect to gun rights, though I am sorry for her loss. It is heartening, however, to see that she listens to concerns and has been willing to back off of an un-American (and frankly fascist) position--legally penalizing people for merely being arrested. It appears that the gun control reality distortion field lost a battle, even on the anti-gun side!

I wish more people would take a step back from fascism, and stop calling for people to be banned from buying guns because they are SUSPECTED of criminal activities. It is bad enough to see Bush and his fans calling for rights restrictions that aren't legitimately backed by due process of law; it's frankly terrifying to see "progressive" fascists (or dupes) doing the same.

So kudos to Carolyn McCarthy. And I hope she did the right thing because it was the right thing, and not because a competent lawyer told her what would happen to her law as soon as it was challenged.

[Glassunion]

1. I read the text of the bill on govtrack.

It is straight forward. Mostly it penalizes states for not complying with the NICS systems.

[Logical]

7. Thanks. I thought the same thing. n-t

[TPaine7]

9. Really? Nothing about a 10 round limit?

I might be able to support it; though given our position, I would rather trade it. I'd take stripping DC of gun control authority and national reciprocity.

:evilgrin:

[Euromutt]

2. I love that description "controversial proposal"

Frankly, there's shouldn't be any controversy concerning Schumer's proposal; there should be consensus that stripping people of liberty without due process is unconstitutional, undemocratic, unjust and just plain vile, and that Schumer deserves to be roundly ridiculed for even suggesting it.

[frebrd]

3. +1!

[lawodevolution]

4. They're trying to make us into another banana republic where the gov invents laws as they go and

Strip people of rights because of suspected activity.

[TPaine7]

5. Not one fascist has weighed in. It is sad to see that people are either too stupid to understand

American government or too unprincipled to care.

Well, they may not have intelligence, principles or the courage of their non-convictions, but they still have their drive-by unrecs. It's what I would expect from Bush league thinkers.

[GreenStormCloud]

6. It will die in committee. N/T

[TPaine7]

8. Most likely. Unless it is modified and part of some larger compromise. n/t

[spin]

10. I'm in favor of improving the NICS system ...

and I also feel that any state that doesn't input the names of criminals and those adjudged to have severe mental problems to the NICS on a timely basis should be fined.

In reading through the Text of S. 436: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 at: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s112-436, I notice that a system is being set up to require private sellers to use the NICS background check. Despite the fact that I am an NRA member, I see no problems with this idea.

I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on DU, but the text appears to me to set up a fair system for the use of the NICS background check for private sales which I have supported for years. I currently will not sell any of my used firearms to anyone that I personally don't know and who does not have a valid Florida concealed weapons permit. Obviously, I don't sell many of my firearms.

Unless someone far more qualified than I am points out obvious and egregious faults with these bills, they have my support. They improve the NICS background check which I personally believe has been beneficial and worthwhile, unlike many "feel good" gun control schemes.

[Kayso]

11. I don't sell many of my guns either.

Unless I know the person I won't sell it to them.

[benEzra]

12. It's probably hazardous to comment without actually reading her proposal itself...

but on the surface that actually sounds reasonable, since she appears to have dropped both the automatically-guilty-if-arrested language, as well as prior attempts to apply the Bush terrah blacklists to gun ownership, and there is no mention of magazine bans.

Hopefully that article is an accurate summary. Does anyone have a bill number yet?