Feinstein Says Reid Stopping Assault Weapons Ban Is A ‘Betrayal’

by Tim Brown

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pretty much dumped Senator Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban bill, leaving her feeling a bit betrayed. In fact, it is questionable that a serious background check will make it to the Senate floor.

Feinstein’s response to Reid’s decision was classic. She told CNN, “What Senator Reid told me is that I would have an opportunity for a vote. I take him at his word. I told him also that it would be my intention to separate out the prohibition on the future, manufacture, transfer, sales, and possession of large ammunition-feeding devices of more than ten bullets. I asked him if this could be part of a package. He said no. And I took away from that meeting the belief that we would have a vote on the full bill, and a vote on ammunition-feeding devices of more than ten bullets.”

“This is very important to me and I’m not going to lay down and play dead,” she continued. “I think the American people have said in every single public poll that they support this kind of legislation. It’s aimed to protect children, to protect schools and malls. It’s aimed to dry up the supply of these over time. And it came out on a 10-8 vote of the Judiciary Committee. Not to give me a vote on this would be a major betrayal of trust.”

The Washington Post reported,

Instead of including the assault weapons ban in the final bill, Feinstein said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has told her she can introduce it as an amendment to the full bill — fulfilling his promise to hold an up-or-down vote on the measure. A separate vote will be held on an amendment to limit the size of ammunition clips, she said.

Reid said later Tuesday, however, that the amendment has no chance of passing. “Right now her amendment, using the most optimistic numbers, has less than 40 votes. I — that’s not 60,” Reid said. “I have to get something on the floor so we can have votes on that issue and the other issues that I’ve talked about. And that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Reid’s decision is a setback for President Obama and congressional Democrats, who are pushing a series of proposals to limit gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

“I think we have growing momentum on our side,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “Newtown was a call to action and I think we’ve made tremendous progress. Three-plus months ago, this issue was politically untouchable. This time is different.”

Jennifer Rubin writes, “Senior Senate Democratic aides called talk of the ban’s demise “premature,” but admitted that it is unlikely to be included as part of the broader package, which could be introduced by Reid as early as this week.”

“Still unresolved is what Reid’s final bill might say about expanding the gun background check program,” Rubin continued. “Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is working with other Democrats to find potential Republican co-sponsors for a revised bill that would permit exceptions for firearm exchanges between family members or close friends. But talks have been hampered by disagreements over whether to establish a record-keeping system for non-commercial gun transactions.”

Well, it appears to me that these Socialist Democrats are smoking something behind closed doors because everywhere I turn people are opposed to their tyranny, not in favor of it. I’ll also point out that any and all legislation that they put forward restricting guns at the Federal level are just simply unconstitutional. It’s actually a bit rewarding to watch Feinstein and her bill go down in flames. We can only hope the rest of the minutia of gun control legislation will find a similar fate.