Senate Democrats on Wednesday banded together to defeat — barely — a Republican proposal to allow concealed weapons to be carried across state lines.Sen. Arlen Specter only signaled his his opposition yesterday. From his website:
Voting 58-39, the chamber beat back an amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a potential presidential hopeful who has taken on a growing role among Senate Republicans, that would have permitted weapons to be transferred from state to state.
Under a previous agreement between the two parties, the amendment needed 60 votes to pass.
[snip]
Nineteen other Democrats crossed over to support the amendment: Max Baucus of Montana, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jon Tester of Montana, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Udall of Colorado and Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia. [Emphasis added]
[snip]
The bill would have allowed citizens with a concealed-weapons permit in one state to transfer that permit to other states.
"From my own experience growing up in Kansas and being District Attorney of Philadelphia, I know states need to prescribe their own rules for carrying a concealed deadly weapon. This is the essence of federalism. My vote against the Thune Amendment will not limit the constitutional rights of hunters and gun owners. Pennsylvania already recognizes concealed carry permits from 24 other states where their laws are similar."Groups such as Cease Fire PA and Mayors Against Illegal Guns targeted Specter and Casey. The latter group running an ad in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Philadelphia Inquirer this week. Notice that this ad was aimed at Specter -- not Casey. Did they already know that Bobby was a lost cause?
This all comes on the heels of a lawsuit by the NRA being thrown out of court which tried to challenge a Pittsburgh ordinance that required owners to report lost or stolen guns to the police.
Despite Casey's efforts, all in all, a good week for keeping firearms "well regulated."
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5 comments:
Maria, How does this square with your co-bloggers' narrative that Bob Casey beating Rick Santorum showed PA has embraced progressive values and is a blue state?
BTW, you show a Obama administration level of dishonestly in how you characterize the dismissal of the NRA lawsuit.
NRA’s suit against the City of Pittsburgh has been dismissed due to lack of standing. It’s interesting that the Brady Campaign is pleased to preserve a gun law on the grounds that it hasn’t been enforced against anyone yet.
BC Said,
Actually, the reason it was dismissed wasn’t just that it hadn’t been enforced; it was because the judge thought there wasn’t even a credible threat of enforcement. Without at least that much, there’s no injury in fact, and no standing to sue.
So the Brady Campaign is pleased to preserve a gun law on the grounds that it’s unlikely ever to be enforced. I guess when you’re an organization that sad-sack, you take your victories where you can get them.
If Pittsburgh tries to enforce the law, the NRA can file again.
HTTP, how does how Casey voted after the election connect with what voters thought of him before the election? But I think a lot of voters knew Casey is pretty conservative, just like a fair number know Specter is pretty conservative, even if he does back union-friendly bills.
I would have thought you would be embarrassed to bring up Presidential dishonesty after Bush lied about WMD’s and the Al Qaeda connection in Iraq, lied about warrant-less wiretaps and lied about his military service. By any comparison Obama is a paragon of truth.
The way some blogger or commenter on a pro gun and killing blog characterizes the dismissal of the NRA lawsuit is hardly evidence of anything. After all, conservatives are denying Obama’s country of birth in the face of clear evidence. How can conservatives be trusted to relay any truthful information to anyone, when conservatives have decided ideology is more important?
Ed,
Voters knew Casey was pro-life and pro-gun.
BTW, I would not call Casey and Specter conservatives.
They are moderates.
You should be embarrassed when you condemned me because I want to see Obama's full Birth certificate (along with Kerry's service/divorce records) and give half-hearted support to the birthers.
When you believe the Bush AWOL/Forged TANG memos BS.
Well, so, where I might say conservative Democrat, you might say moderate. Point is, voters knew that and all the rest of us too. So no one should say (or does say) that Pennsylvania has become progressive, only that it has swung weakly into voting for Democrats.
I didn't say I believe the CBS memos, although I don't necessarily dis-believe them. It’s my understanding that everyone agrees that President Bush left Texas in his fifth year of a six year obligation to the Air National Guard (which in turn kept him away from Vietnam) to work on a Senatorial Campaign. Bush requested a transfer to a different type of Air National Guard unit, which violated the terms of his service with the Air National Guard. As far as I know no one disputes that, but instead of refusing Bush’s request or sending him to Vietnam, the Air Force let him do these things. I am not sure what the memos are supposed to say and to my mind, it doesn’t matter. When George W Bush got a better offer, he simply told the Air National Guard he was going to take it, and good bye.
Again, I ask, what will you learn from Obama’s long form Certification of Live Birth? But fine, I will join you in requesting the long form Certification of Live Birth, if you will join me in requesting an investigation of the Bush administration on how the whole torture thing started and progressed. If you want Kerry’s full service record papers, then I want George Bush’s full service record papers, and an explanation about whether transferring to Alabama from Texas violated Bush’s terms of service.
Casey is a blue dog and has always been a conservative. There's nothing moderate about him.
The only reason he was able to run and win was the widespread desire to have a Democratic Congress.
Here's hoping a credible challenger emerges to rid Pennsylvania of this unneeded politician. He can pal around with Arlen at the retirement village.
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