UPDATED 6-21@1:47 p.m. PDT: There is now an indication an agreement has been reached between Republicans and Democrats on the negotiating team and they may vote on it Tuesday evening, according to a report at Ammoland.
It appears possible a bill could be filed late this afternoon.
Liberty Park Press earlier noted that ABC News is reporting “The clock is ticking for Senate negotiators” to reach agreement on what they are calling an “anti-gun violence package” of legislation that may—or may not—amount to much because, according to a remark by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), there cannot be any new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners, because he will not support them.
The outlook is slightly different from Monday, when it appeared Senate negotiators were getting close to agreement, but now there may be a couple of significant speed bumps. The hope among anti-gun Democrats is that there will be a bill shortly, prior to the July 4 two-week recess, because “Pushing a vote on the legislation until after the break threatens to slow momentum for a package already struggling to find a home in the Republican conference,” ABC noted.
An editorial in the New York Post is demanding action.
“At this point, it’s possible they won’t get this done before the July 4 recess, after which each party will be even more reluctant, as the November elections grow near,” the Post editorial said.
The stumbling blocks appear to be disagreement over the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” and what actually constitutes a “boyfriend.”
“Under current law,” as explained by the ABC News report, “those convicted of domestic violence against their married partner or against those with whom they have a child are prohibited from purchasing guns. Democrats want to expand that language to include other kinds of dating partners.”
That has been an issue within the Second Amendment community for a long time. Many activists believe Democrats want to disqualify as many people as possible from being able to legally own firearms, thus legally reducing the number of potential legal gun owners. It’s a backdoor strategy to crack down on the Second Amendment, many believe.
Sen. Mike Lee, quoted separately in a New York Post story, is wary of the negotiations and he wants to see actual text of a bill before he decides whether to support it.
“There are a lot of things that can go wrong,” he told the newspaper.
Lee says negotiating behind closed doors—the Senate team involves 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans—is “a very dangerous way to legislate.” He says there must be transparency.
Another stumbling block is the so-called “red flag” component because Republicans have serious concerns about due process and violation of rights of those accused of being some kind of threat to themselves or others. “red flag” laws are supposed to provide a mechanism by which such people can have their Second Amendment rights suspended, but there are concerns about potential abuse of such laws by angry former intimate partners or spiteful family members.
