On October 5, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Americans’ safety is being sacrificed to the “radical agenda” of the National Rifle Association (NRA) by Republicans who are nothing more than “puppets” of the NRA to begin with.
Reid claims “he is reaching out to other Democrat senators on moving background checks legislation” in the wake of the attack on Umpqua Community College (UCC), but suggests Republican Senators are blocking the gun control measure on behalf of the NRA.
According to Politico, Democrats are trying to gain momentum from the cumulative effect of the UCC attack, the on-air shootings in Virginia, and the Charleston church shooting. Reid says if the Senate “[doesn’t] take action, [they] are equally as responsible for innocent deaths as the sick individuals who plot and carry out these horrific measures.”
On the other side of the aisle, Republican Senators say they do not support the push because it is purely political in its motivation. Republicans bolster their position by pointing out that the gunmen in Oregon, Virginia, and Charleston all passed background checks to acquire the guns they used to kill innocents.
So if mass shooters are already passing background checks to acquire their guns, what good is a push to expand background checks to even more sales?
The Democrat caucus will be deciding whether to put forward background check legislation this week, and while they are considering it, they may push legislation that institutes gun control under the guise of fighting domestic violence. The gun control push under the guise of domestic violence prevention is sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
As with expanded background check legislation, gun control disguised as domestic violence prevention would not have hindered the UCC attack in any way.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.