In yet another move to advance the gun control agenda of President Barack Obama and billionaire anti-gun Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) is taking his betrayal of gun owners to the next level.
Early next week, Manchin will be the guest of honor at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser hosted by Mayor Bloomberg at his opulent Manhattan mansion, as he continues to misrepresent his failed legislation.
Back in April, the Senate voted on, and rejected, the Obama Administration's gun control agenda. The underlying bill Obama wanted to see pass was S. 649, by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the "universal background checks" provisions of which came from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Because Schumer's legislation was too severe to have any chance of passage, Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)--along with Schumer--proposed a compromise amendment in the hope of winning additional votes. However, the amendment was riddled with pitfalls for gun owners, and even some potentially pro-gun provisions added to sweeten the pot were flawed. The amendment fell four votes short of the 60 that were required for passage under a rule the Senate adopted to avoid a filibuster.
Manchin's latest, misguided proposal criminalizes certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens -- requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution.
As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not stop mass shootings, reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools. In addition, the amendment would open the door to a national registry of gun owners.
Please call Sen. Manchin today at (202) 224-3954 and tell him your freedoms can’t be bought with Bloomberg’s money! And let him know you oppose his legislative proposal that would restrict the rights of America's law-abiding gun owners.
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