Hindsight from The New Gun Week August 20, 1998
Senate Tables Magazine Ban Expansion
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive EditorCongress often seems like a powerful locomotive, mightily huffing and puffing in the station until spectators start to dose, only to be startled when the giant begins moving swiftly.
That seems an appropriate simile for action on gun-related legislation in the 105th Congress during the past two years, as people on both sides of the gun question tried to get their train going.
Now, everything seems to be moving at once.
The Senate voted on a half dozen gun-related amendments to budget bills in July and early August action in the House Judiciary Committee (See skyline story on Page 1) suggest that firearms legislation may be an important agenda item in the closing days of this Congress.
The latest of the Senate gun votes came on July 28, and received little or no mention in the general media. Just hours after members of the House and Senate had joined President Clinton and other officials in honoring the two Capitol Hill policemen who had been killed in the July 24 shootout in Washington, DC, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered another anti-gun amendment to a Treasury Appropriations bill. Feinstein's proposal was intended to ban the importation of over-10-round magazines manufactured overseas before Sept. 13, 1994, when the Crime Bill outlawed certain newly manufactured semi-automatic guns and all large capacity (over 10 rounds) magazines. The Feinstein amendment was tabled on a 54-44 vote, with only a few shifts in the positions of senators from votes taken on other gun measures on July 21. (A complete roll-call vote chart for five of the key Senate gun votes in July is included as part of this column.)
Perhaps the most important of the July 21 votes was on an amendment by Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) which prohibits the FBI from charging fees for background checks on prospective gun buyers when the National Instant Check System (NICS) goes on line Dec. 1. The FBI has proposed charging fees of $13 to $16 for each transaction, a fee system which some describe as an authorized "gun tax" which could be raised in future months and years. The Smith amendment also blocks national computerized registration of gunowners by requiring the FBI to destroy immediately records of individual background checks (the Bureau had proposed to keep records for 18 months). Finally, the Smith amendment allows people to sue the FBI if they violate any of the other provisions. The vote on the Smith amendment was 69 for to 31 against.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), sponsor of a successful amendment on trigger locks that helped block a mandatory trigger lock amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), put the votes in perspective for gunowners in comments to Gun Week.
"Senators were really thinking about this vote. They knew that a great deal of hard work had already been done in the Judiciary Committee, and many concerns had been addressed. I see this as a definitive vote on firearms rights during this Congress. There is still always a possibility that an anti-gun amendment will pop up (as the Feinstein proposal did a week later), but the Majority Leader (Sen. Trent Lott [R-MS]) isn't likely to spend floor time on something that's pretty much a done deal," Craig said.
As reported in Gun Week's Aug. 10th issue, the first in the series of July 21 evening votes was on an amendment offered by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that would have mandated that all handguns sold in the US have trigger locks. The Senate rejected her proposal by a roll-call vote of 61-39.
Next came the amendment offered by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) who proposed that dealers merely be required to offer trigger locks for sale with handguns but required no one to buy them. The Craig amendment passed 72-28.
The amendment offered by Smith was considered and approved next.
Then the Senate considered an amendment by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) which would have held adult gunowners criminally liable if a juvenile was able to steal and misuse a gun in a crime. This Durbin amendment was defeated in a 69-31 roll-call vote. Another amendment by Durbin, to prohibit sales of guns to most foreign visitors, except those with a valid hunting license issued by a state, was approved by a voice vote, as was a measure offered by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden (D) and Gordon Smith (R) that requires authorities to hold students who are caught bringing guns to school for observation for 72 hours.
Senator Votes 1* 2* 3* 4* 5*Abraham (MI) Y Y Y Y Y
Akaka (HI) N N N N N
Allard (CO) Y Y Y Y Y
Ashcroft (MO) Y Y Y Y Y
Baucus (MT) Y Y Y Y Y
Bennett (UT) Y Y Y Y Y
Biden (DE) N N N N N
Bingaman (NM) N Y Y Y Y
Bond (MO) Y Y Y Y Y
Boxer (CA) N N N N N
Breaux (LA) Y Y Y Y Y
Brownback (KS) Y Y Y Y Y
Bryan (NV) Y Y N Y N
Bumpers (AR) N N N N N
Burns (MT) Y Y Y Y Y
Byrd (WV) N N N N N
Campbell (CO) Y Y Y Y Y
Chafee (RI) N N Y N N
Cleland (GA) N N N Y N
Coats (IN) Y Y Y Y Y
Cochran (MS) Y Y Y Y Y
Collins (ME) Y Y Y Y Y
Conrad (ND) Y Y Y Y N
Coverdell (GA) Y Y Y Y Y
Craig (ID) Y Y Y Y Y
D'Amato (NY) Y Y Y Y N
Daschle (SD) N Y Y Y N
DeWine (OH) N Y Y N N
Dodd (CT) N N N N N
Domenici (NM) Y Y Y Y Y
Dorgan (ND) Y Y Y Y N
Durbin (IL) N N N N N
Enzi (WY) Y Y Y Y Y
Faircloth (NC) Y Y Y Y Y
Feingold (WI) N Y Y Y N
Feinstein (CA) N N N N N
Ford (KY) N Y N Y N
Frist (TN) Y Y Y Y Y
Glenn (OH) N N N N N
Gorton (WA) Y Y Y Y Y
Graham (FL) N Y N N N
Gramm (TX) Y Y Y Y Y
Grams (MN) Y Y Y Y Y
Grassley (IA) Y Y Y Y Y
Gregg (NH) Y Y Y Y Y
Hagel (NE) Y Y Y Y Y
Harkin (IA) N N N N NV
Hatch (UT) Y Y Y Y Y
Helms (NC) Y Y Y Y NV
Hollings (SC) Y Y Y Y Y
Hutchinson (AR) Y Y Y Y Y
Hutchison (TX) Y Y Y Y Y
Inhofe (OK) Y Y Y Y Y
Inouye (HI) N N N N N
Jeffords (VT) Y Y Y Y N
Johnson (SD) N Y Y Y N
Kempthorne (ID) Y Y Y Y Y
Kennedy (MA) N N N N N
Kerrey (NE) N Y Y Y N
Kerry (MA) N N N N N
Kohl (WI) N N N N N
Kyl (AZ) Y Y Y Y Y
Landrieu (LA) N N N N N
Lautenberg (NJ) N N N N N
Leahy (VT) Y Y Y Y Y
Levin (MI) N N N N N
Lieberman (CT) N Y N N N
Lott (MS) Y Y Y Y Y
Lugar (IN) Y Y Y Y N
Mack (FL) Y Y Y Y Y
McCain (AZ) Y Y Y Y Y
McConnell (KY) Y Y Y Y Y
Mikulski (MD) N N N N N
Moseley-Braun (IL) N Y N N N
Moynihan (NY) N N N N N
Murkowski (AK) Y Y Y Y Y
Murray (WA) N Y Y N N
Nickles (OK) Y Y Y Y Y
Reed (RI) N N N N N
Reid (NV) Y Y Y Y N
Robb (VA) Y N N N N
Roberts (KS) Y Y Y Y Y
Rockefeller (WV) N N Y Y N
Roth (DE) Y Y Y Y Y
Santorum (PA) Y Y Y Y Y
Sarbanes (MD) N N N N N
Sessions (AL) Y Y Y Y Y
Shelby (AL) Y Y Y Y Y
Smith (NH) Y Y Y Y Y
Smith (OR) Y Y Y Y Y
Snowe (ME) Y Y Y Y Y
Specter (PA) Y Y Y Y Y
Stevens (AK) Y Y Y Y Y
Thomas (WY) Y Y Y Y Y
Thompson (TN) Y Y Y Y Y
Thurmond (SC) Y Y Y Y Y
Torricelli (NJ) N N N N N
Warner (VA) N Y Y Y Y
Wellstone (MN) N N N N N
Wyden (OR) N N N N NVOTE KEY:
"Y" indicates a pro-gun vote; "N" indicates an anti-gun vote; "NV" means Not Voting on an amendment.
*Vote No. 1 is the Boxer Amendment mandating trigger locks; No. 2 is the Craig Amendment requiring dealers to offer to sell trigger locks; No. 3 is the Smith Amendment on FBI fees, record distruction, and civil recourse; No. 4 is the Durbin Amendment to prosecute adults; No. 5 is the Feinstein Amendment to ban foreign pre-ban large capacity magazines.
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.netAlso, check out the New Gun Week at http://www.GunWeek.com