It doesn’t get crazier than this.
Our senators – from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama – this week thought it was more important to stand up for the constitutional rights of suspected and possible terrorists on the nation’s FBI Terrorist Watchlist than it was to protect Americans in Chattanooga, San Bernardino, Baltimore, any U.S. city.
And the Tennessee senators hoped we wouldn’t notice. Actually, they did more than hope. They even put out some red herring news releases. But more on that later.
After a long day of talking about gutting Obamacare and band-aiding highways (the same day Americans were focused on synthesizing the latest deadly mass shooting and one that now is being investigated as terrorism), our senators in the late, late afternoon began voting on a gun measure to tack onto the repeal-Obamacare bill that they knew President Obama would veto. As if to add insult to injury, the main gun measure was the same bill the president had championed two years ago after the Sandy Hook school massacre.
But there also were amendments to it, including a motion from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to bar the sale of firearms and explosives to individuals on the terrorist watch list.
It was all sort of like an afterthought. Oh, yeah – what about that shooting thing in San Bernardino? The one where 14 people died and 21 others were injured, and we haven’t had a higher mass shooting death toll since 20 children and six educators were shot to death in Newtown, Conn.
We’re talking here about keeping guns from suspected terrorists who already are banned from flying in our airplanes. This should be a slam dunk, right? Sure there are people who are mistakenly on the terrorist watch list. It’s been argued that Sen. Ted Kennedy was once incorrectly listed there. But that’s what appeals are for. In the meantime, couldn’t we at least slightly inconvenience the real terror suspects?
But only the most cynical of us would have expected that only one Republican senator in the entire Republican Senate majority would think we – American citizens – might be more important than the Second Amendment rights of suspected terrorists. And yet the ultra-cynics ruled the day. Only Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois supported the terrorist ban.
Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker voted no. So did Georgia Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. Ditto Alabama GOP members Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby.
Let’s review. Just one Republican voted for a measure that would prevent a person on the nation’s FBI Terrorist Watchlist from purchasing guns or explosives. What a profile in courage.
And what about the Manchin-Toomey background checks bill? The proposal would require background checks for all gun purchases online and at gun shows. Currently, the checks are only required for transactions from licensed gun dealers. Poll after poll shows American’s heartily support this. Even gun owners support it. The National Rifle Association does not, and the NRA gave $30.6 million in campaign donations to our Congress members in 2014.
Criminal background checks are not gun control. If you pass the background check, you get to buy a gun. It’s the people who fail that we don’t want having guns. This is common sense. We make cars safer not by banning them but with a myriad of little regulations like licensing and driving tests and seatbelts, so, yes, we can do something about gun violence through common-sense regulation. Yet The Associated Press recorded that only four GOP senators – and not ours – supported the Manchin-Toomey bill this week: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mark Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona and one of the bill’s authors, Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.
As for the red herrings? Consider these news releases from Sens. Alexander and Corker that filled Times Free Press inboxes on Thursday:
‘ “[U.S. Sen. Lamar] Alexander Calls On President to Sign Legislation to Fix Damage Caused By Obamacare. “
‘ “U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today voted for the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act legislation that would dismantle the president’s health care law “
‘ U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said today final passage of a five-year plan to reauthorize federal highway programs, which he voted for, is good for Tennessee “
‘ “U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after voting against the highway bills. This legislation does not solve the real problem “
‘ “[U.S. Sen. Lamar] Alexander [announces debate] on Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind.”
‘ “[U.S. Sen. Bob] Corker Outlines Iran Nuclear Deal Oversight Plan.”
Not one word about their votes against background checks or their votes opposing a ban on gun sales to suspected terrorists.
And remember, Chattanooga had one of these shootings. Five servicemen died. Tennessee has had at least two other mass shootings. Shouldn’t we expect our senators to have our backs?
Alas, it appears that only the NRA and terrorists can count on that.