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NRA & Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in talks...
retroxler58
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NRA, Joe Manchin in talks on background checks
Sen. Joe Manchin and the National Rifle Association are quietly engaged in private talks on a proposal to broaden background checks on purchasers of firearms.
That the NRA is even talking with Manchin suggests there's at least some room for negotiation for the group - despite its public posture against tougher gun laws, several sources say.
And if successful, a Manchin-NRA deal could draw in enough Republicans and red-state Democrats to defeat an expected GOP filibuster of the overall gun control bill when it hits the floor next month.
The move marks a new approach for the conservative West Virginia Democrat and could prove a pivotal moment in the gun control debate. For several weeks, the NRA ally and hunting enthusiast has been trying to win over GOP senators, but so far many Republicans have been squeamish for a variety of reasons - namely over calls to require retailers to keep background check records.
But if the NRA stays neutral and decides not to "score" a vote for a Manchin plan on its annual scorecard, Manchin - and the overall bill - would have a much better chance.
Manchin, who calls himself a "proud West Virginia NRA member," [THAT says a lot about Sen Manchin Right there...] declined to discuss his negotiations with the group.
"I'm not giving up. We're talking to everybody. I mean everybody," Manchin told POLITICO. "We recognize that something needs to be done - responsible and reasonable. So many take an approach where you own a gun, someone that owns a gun, something is wrong with you. I don't know anybody that doesn't own a gun."
In a statement, Manchin added his efforts are "dedicated to preventing criminals and those adjudicated mentally ill from purchasing firearms, and not criminalizing law-abiding gun owners."
Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman, declined to discuss the powerful organization's talks with Manchin, but he said the NRA has "conversations with elected officials, including members of Congress, on a daily basis."
Arulanandam said the NRA is strongly opposed "to criminalizing private transfers between two law-abiding people. That remains a non-starter with the National Rifle Association. We want to reiterate that we don't support an expansion of the National Instant Checks System."
NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has funded a gun control super PAC, are scheduled to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday morning.
The NRA does back a bill introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to expand the scope of mental health information submitted to the background check system used by gun sellers.
Yet the Manchin-NRA negotiations are significant because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has demanded that any gun control bill approved by his chamber "must" include a plan to make background checks tougher. Reid said the Senate would vote in April on a controversial assault weapons ban, a prohibition on high-capacity ammunition magazines, mental-health screening, as well as a bipartisan gun trafficking measure.
However, the the universal background checks proposal included in Reid's gun package is opposed by the NRA, Republicans and some red-state Democrats. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the author of the background checks measure approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote, has also worked with Manchin to try to craft a bipartisan deal with Republicans.
The current Schumer background checks bill would cover all gun sales, including private transactions, and require that records of those transactions must be retained. Republican and pro-gun groups like the NRA argue that such records are the first step toward gun registration, and ultimately, the confiscation of guns by the government. Democrats and the White House strongly deny such accusations.
Manchin, hoping to replace the universal background checks provisions in the Reid bill with his own bipartisan proposal, is facing a tricky balancing act. He is trying to make concessions sought by the NRA without drawing opposition from key Democrats who are staunch supporters of stricter gun laws, namely Schumer. And if a middle ground remains elusive, Manchin will have to decide whether to propose a more moderate background checks bill in line with the wishes of the NRA even if it infuriates gun control advocates in the Senate.
Manchin said that there should be a commission aimed at proposing ways to reduce mass violence - and he said that criminal and mental health background checks should be improved while they attempt to close off loopholes at gun shows and Internet sales.
"This is not rocket science, it's just getting people to where they are comfortable enough to either sign on or support," Manchin said.
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is one of the GOP senators that Manchin and Schumer have tried to woo for weeks. While Coburn so far has been a tough sell, he believes ultimately there will be a bipartisan deal over the issue.
"We will enhance background checks in this country because it's the right thing to do," Coburn said Friday.
But if there's no bipartisan agreement reached on the matter, Coburn said he would vote to block the Reid bill if it included the universal background checks that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Some conservative Democrats feel the same way.
Begich said he didn't know if he'd vote to proceed to the Reid bill because of the universal background check language currently in the bill, which said he had "concerns" with because it seemed "very expansive."
"Right now, that bill doesn't get to 60 votes," Begich said of the current Democratic guns package.
Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, another Democrat who is up for reelection in 2014, also signaled he is not backing the Reid bill yet.
"I am focusing more on enforcement of current law," Baucus said. "I am going home [on Saturday.] I'll talk to Montanans and see what my employers want."
But Begich said he recently spoke with Manchin and said he sees "slight movement" in his colleague's efforts. But he cautioned that Manchin will have to first win over pro-NRA Republicans - and that Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, a moderate Republican who has supported tougher gun laws, is not enough.
Reid, who also used to be an ally of the NRA, said in a brief interview Friday that Manchin appeared to be making some progress.
"I talked to him yesterday, and he said we thought he was getting very close," Reid said.
West Virginia voters... Best get your guy in line...
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NRA, Joe Manchin in talks on background checks
Sen. Joe Manchin and the National Rifle Association are quietly engaged in private talks on a proposal to broaden background checks on purchasers of firearms.
That the NRA is even talking with Manchin suggests there's at least some room for negotiation for the group - despite its public posture against tougher gun laws, several sources say.
And if successful, a Manchin-NRA deal could draw in enough Republicans and red-state Democrats to defeat an expected GOP filibuster of the overall gun control bill when it hits the floor next month.
The move marks a new approach for the conservative West Virginia Democrat and could prove a pivotal moment in the gun control debate. For several weeks, the NRA ally and hunting enthusiast has been trying to win over GOP senators, but so far many Republicans have been squeamish for a variety of reasons - namely over calls to require retailers to keep background check records.
But if the NRA stays neutral and decides not to "score" a vote for a Manchin plan on its annual scorecard, Manchin - and the overall bill - would have a much better chance.
Manchin, who calls himself a "proud West Virginia NRA member," [THAT says a lot about Sen Manchin Right there...] declined to discuss his negotiations with the group.
"I'm not giving up. We're talking to everybody. I mean everybody," Manchin told POLITICO. "We recognize that something needs to be done - responsible and reasonable. So many take an approach where you own a gun, someone that owns a gun, something is wrong with you. I don't know anybody that doesn't own a gun."
In a statement, Manchin added his efforts are "dedicated to preventing criminals and those adjudicated mentally ill from purchasing firearms, and not criminalizing law-abiding gun owners."
Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman, declined to discuss the powerful organization's talks with Manchin, but he said the NRA has "conversations with elected officials, including members of Congress, on a daily basis."
Arulanandam said the NRA is strongly opposed "to criminalizing private transfers between two law-abiding people. That remains a non-starter with the National Rifle Association. We want to reiterate that we don't support an expansion of the National Instant Checks System."
NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has funded a gun control super PAC, are scheduled to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday morning.
The NRA does back a bill introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to expand the scope of mental health information submitted to the background check system used by gun sellers.
Yet the Manchin-NRA negotiations are significant because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has demanded that any gun control bill approved by his chamber "must" include a plan to make background checks tougher. Reid said the Senate would vote in April on a controversial assault weapons ban, a prohibition on high-capacity ammunition magazines, mental-health screening, as well as a bipartisan gun trafficking measure.
However, the the universal background checks proposal included in Reid's gun package is opposed by the NRA, Republicans and some red-state Democrats. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the author of the background checks measure approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote, has also worked with Manchin to try to craft a bipartisan deal with Republicans.
The current Schumer background checks bill would cover all gun sales, including private transactions, and require that records of those transactions must be retained. Republican and pro-gun groups like the NRA argue that such records are the first step toward gun registration, and ultimately, the confiscation of guns by the government. Democrats and the White House strongly deny such accusations.
Manchin, hoping to replace the universal background checks provisions in the Reid bill with his own bipartisan proposal, is facing a tricky balancing act. He is trying to make concessions sought by the NRA without drawing opposition from key Democrats who are staunch supporters of stricter gun laws, namely Schumer. And if a middle ground remains elusive, Manchin will have to decide whether to propose a more moderate background checks bill in line with the wishes of the NRA even if it infuriates gun control advocates in the Senate.
Manchin said that there should be a commission aimed at proposing ways to reduce mass violence - and he said that criminal and mental health background checks should be improved while they attempt to close off loopholes at gun shows and Internet sales.
"This is not rocket science, it's just getting people to where they are comfortable enough to either sign on or support," Manchin said.
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is one of the GOP senators that Manchin and Schumer have tried to woo for weeks. While Coburn so far has been a tough sell, he believes ultimately there will be a bipartisan deal over the issue.
"We will enhance background checks in this country because it's the right thing to do," Coburn said Friday.
But if there's no bipartisan agreement reached on the matter, Coburn said he would vote to block the Reid bill if it included the universal background checks that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Some conservative Democrats feel the same way.
Begich said he didn't know if he'd vote to proceed to the Reid bill because of the universal background check language currently in the bill, which said he had "concerns" with because it seemed "very expansive."
"Right now, that bill doesn't get to 60 votes," Begich said of the current Democratic guns package.
Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, another Democrat who is up for reelection in 2014, also signaled he is not backing the Reid bill yet.
"I am focusing more on enforcement of current law," Baucus said. "I am going home [on Saturday.] I'll talk to Montanans and see what my employers want."
But Begich said he recently spoke with Manchin and said he sees "slight movement" in his colleague's efforts. But he cautioned that Manchin will have to first win over pro-NRA Republicans - and that Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, a moderate Republican who has supported tougher gun laws, is not enough.
Reid, who also used to be an ally of the NRA, said in a brief interview Friday that Manchin appeared to be making some progress.
"I talked to him yesterday, and he said we thought he was getting very close," Reid said.
West Virginia voters... Best get your guy in line...
Comments
The NRA will cave on UBC's I can almost guarantee.[xx(]
They held the line on ARs.
Back in Dec most of us thought ARs and AKs were gone for good.
The NRA has done just fine in recent months
"We aren't caving on "universal" background checks. Our position is clear, we oppose any expansion of the background check system to all private sales. That has been our position form the begging.
"Please be sure to contact your members of Congress (US Senators and US Representatives) in opposition to any gun control."
I don't know what to think.
Thank you for contacting NRA-ILA regarding the latest rumor.
The NRA is not working on a deal for universal background checks, rather we are working hard to make sure that those who are prohibited, including those due to mental health, are in the system.
Please read more about this issue at the following link:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/279103-manchin-says-hes-working-with-nra-on-universal-background-check-bill#ixzz2IvVaKAFe
"If Sen. Manchin supports putting private transfers between law-abiding citizens under the thumb of the Obama-Holder justice department, we will vigorously oppose those efforts," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.
Arulanandam said the gun rights group believed "what Congress needs to do is improve and not expand the system" to better prevent those suffering from mental illness from obtaining weapons.
I hope that this information has been helpful for you.
Please don't hesitate to contact us in the future.
Best,
Sara J
NRA-ILA Grassroots Division
To accompany the 4473 form...
And those with a CCW permit... Will be require to get more than jus'a "signature release" for medical records...
'The Second Amendment can be ignored so long as we get to decide who is dis-enfranchised.'
The longer you support the snake, the larger it grows.
Brad Steele
I think their compromise mentality lost a lot of members for them. I hope they continue to turn around.