Every House Dem Voted For The Pretend Gun Control "Compromise"

Today, the House passed the bipartisan Senate gun bill that does almost nothing to prevent NRA/GOP gun massacres and child sacrifice. But I’m sure there are some members absolutely overjoyed that they can lie to their constituents and claim they did something about the plague of mass murders the Republican Party insists on. The bill passed 234-193, 14 Republicans joining every Democrat to vote in favor. McCarthy and Scalise had instructed the Republicans to vote No, as 193 of them did. If voters actually decided who to defeat based on this bill, the Republicans who voted NO today who would be in the most jeopardy are Carlos Gimenez (FL), Scott Perry (PA), Young Kim (CA), Andrew Garbarino (NY), Donald Bacon (NE), Yvette Herrell (NM), Marianette Miller-Meeks (IA), Ken Calvert (CA), Vern Buchanan (FL), Bryan Steil (WI), Michelle Steel (CA), Ashley Hinson (IA), David Schweikert (AZ), Bob Good (VA), Jeff Van Drew (NJ), David Valadao (CA), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Robert Wittman (VA), Bill Huizenga (MI), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL) and Mike Carey (OH). But most of them are pretty safe despite their NO votes.

These are the Republicans who voted Yes-- and a simple explanation of why:

• Tom Rice (SC)- defeated in the GOP primary

• Anthony Gonzalez (OH)- retiring

• John Katko (NY)- retiring

• Adam Kinzinger (IL)- retiring

• Fred Upton (MI)- retiring

• Chris Jacobs (NY)- retiring

• Steve Chabot (OH)- represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• Brian Fitzpatrick (PA)- the last GOP moderate represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• Tony Gonzalez (TX)- represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• David Joyce (OH)- represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• Peter Meijer (MI)- represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• Maria Salazar (FL)- represents a swing district-- with a slight Democratic lean-- and needs independent voters to win

• Turner (OH)- represents a swing district and needs independent voters to win

• Liz Cheney (WY)- electoral strategy is to win over Democrats and het them to reregister as Republicans and vote for her in the GOP primary

Democratic Members trying to pass this nothing burger off as a significant life-saving bill list these provisions and shy away from mentioning military heavy duty equipment in the hands of extremists and insane people:

• Support State Crisis Intervention Orders: Creates $750 million for states to create and administer laws that will ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals determined by a court to be a significant danger to themselves or others, and for extreme risk protection orders that have sufficient due process.

• Protect Victims of Domestic Violence by Closing the Boyfriend Loophole: Adds convicted domestic violence abusers in dating relationships to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

• Ban Gun Trafficking & Crack Down on Straw Purchases: Cracks down on criminals who illegally evade licensing requirements and clarifies which sellers need to register, conduct background checks, and keep appropriate records, and creates federal straw purchasing and trafficking criminal offenses for the first time, allowing prosecutors to target dangerous illegal gunrunners.

• Enhance Background Checks for People Under 21: Requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement, for buyers under 21 years of age, creating an enhanced, longer background check of up to ten days.

• Support Anti-Violence Community Initiatives: Provides $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives.

• Invest in Children & Family Mental Health Services: Supports the national expansion of community behavioral health center model; improves access to mental health services for children, youth, and families through the Medicaid program and CHIP; increases access to mental health services for youth and families in crisis via telehealth; and provides major investments at the Department of Health and Human Services to programs that expand provider training in mental health, support suicide prevention, crisis and trauma intervention and recovery.

• Invest in Safe Schools: Invests in programs to expand mental health and supportive services in schools, including: early identification and intervention programs, school-based mental health and wrap-around services, improvements to school-wide learning conditions, and school safety.

This is why the media is singing the praises of the bill, despite the fact that it won’t do much to end the gun violence epidemic: it’s bipartisan, as though giving the members of Congress an “A” for ‘works and plays well with others’ is a goal unto itself; it’s better than 3 decades of nothing at all; and maybe it will lead to something effective… someday. The illegitimate Supreme Court ruling yesterday against a New York law limiting the use of weapons in public spaces did far more harm to the fight for safety than this bill dies good.

Maybe next time far right Republican rioters come to sack the Capitol, more of them will be armed and-- who knows-- maybe a couple dozen members of Congress will be shot. That might get them to take protecting the public more seriously. Maybe.