How do we enact change?
To enact change legislatively, you lobby a congressman or senator to sponsor a bill. This bill can then be sent to either house and will be reviewed. It then may have a chance to be considered by both houses where it could become a law.
How do we get our legislation started?
To get our legislation started we can either propose it to a senator to support and propose, or to a representative to support or propose.
What type of measure shall we propose?
A gun control that does not inhibit the common American citizens ability to own a gun. Part of the CSA’s mission is to advocate for education, which is exactly what we plan to do with our bill. Many people in opposition to gun control state that there is no proof that gun control would be effective in United States. However, the reason there is no proof is the Dickey amendment in 1996 made it so that the Center for Disease and Control was not allowed to advocate for any kind of gun control, and on top of that, the center was given little to no funding to research gun violence. In addition to this, gun advocacy groups have been able to lobby congress into weakening the ATF’s ability to track the sales of firearms. We believe that all U.S. citizens have a right to bear arms, but there should be efforts in place that ensure that it is done safely and responsibly. That is why we hope to overturn the dickey amendment and establish a database for the ATF to accurately vet potential gun owners, in order to ensure that the second amendment is preserved and society is protected.
What will our bill say?
S. 87 Repealing the Dickey Amendment and establishing a gun owner database
A. Repealing the dickey amendment allows the CDC to investigate what causes gun violence and how to prevent it. The amount of funding that the CDC gets in proportion to the severity of this issue is absurd and should be changed immediately.
B. Not allowing the ATF to electronically track the purchase of guns is absurd and provides an unnecessary obstacle to justice. Establishing this database would not inhibit any law abiding gun owner from observing his second amendment rights, and would only serve to expedite the pursuit of justice.
Should we take our proposal to the House of Representative or the Senate?
We should take our Gun Control proposal to the Senate. This is because the democratic party has a larger influence in that house. That would allow the bill a better chance at being passed and not dismissed by the overwhelming Republican majority in the House of representatives. That will give our bill the most support.
What would be the profile of a Representative who would sponsor our bill?
A representative that would sponsor our bill would likely be in favor of more government regulation and is concerned with public safety. However, this is an issue that is essentially split on party lines. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say the the Democratic party would be in favor of our bill and that that the Republican party would be in opposition. Granted there may be representatives on each side that may be moderate in their beliefs and would vote against their party’s ideology, but for the most part this is a party issue.
Is there a representative who would sponsor our bill?
– Chris Murphy of Connecticut just filibustered the Senate floor after the Las Vegas shooting, with the intent of preventing people on the terror watch list from purchasing guns, in addition to expanding background checks.
Another representative that would most likely sponsor our bill is Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. He is a Senator who is a major component in the Democratic party. He looked to stop gun shows extensive sales and harder sanctions on gun sales. He would definitely fight for our cause in congress.
What committees are likely to be assigned to our bill?
The committees that are most likely to receive the bill are The Armed Services Committee and The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Both of these committees have expertise on guns and how they are handled. These committees will most likely handle the proceedings of our bill.
Have they recently held hearings, and what were the outcomes of those hearings?
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently held a full committee hearing on September 27. There they spoke about the threats to homeland. They concluded on enabling more police force to respond to calls in emergencies. All of the Armed Services Committee’s hearings have dealt with problems over seas, and nothing much on domestic gun distribution to military.
What strategies can we develop to get our bill through committee hearings?
Strategies for getting our bill through committee have different steps. We have to make sure our bill appeals to the committee’s interests and that most of the high ranking members agree with our terms. We can also lobby members of the committee so they pass our bill onto to the floor. There it can be voted on and potentially passed on the House of representatives or senate where it will then be voted on.
What interest group, religious groups, political parties, government department, or congressional committees can we expect to support our case?
The Democratic party would most likely support our case due to their efforts to enact gun control in the past. The ATF would also be in favor of our bill due to their antiquated system of tracking gun sales that they currently have to deal with. The American Medical Association would also favor our bill, as they have come out against the Dickey amendment.
What interest group, religious groups, political parties, government department, or congressional committees will most likely oppose our legislation?
The biggest opponent to this bill is going to be the National Rifle Association. The NRA has been extremely effective in opposing and eventually killing all attempts to implement some form of gun control in our country. The success that the NRA has found in turning aside gun control can be attributed to their dedicated following and their simple ideology of opposing almost every attempt to create more regulation for firearms. The NRA also financially backs numerous Republican representatives in the Senate and the House. According to the Washington post, the NRA has given nearly four million dollars to Republican members of congress since 1998. Because of this, the republican party is almost universally against gun control, and after they gained control of the house and senate last election, any attempts to establish some form of gun control seem slim to none.
Can we expect to have broad public support for our legislation?
The majority of Americans favor some form of gun control to be implemented into the firearm marketplace. According to the Pew research Center, eighty-five percent of Americans favor expanded background checks to buy a firearm. Seventy percent of Americans also support the implementation of a federal gun owner database that would track all gun sales. These issues are closely related to each other, seeing as the current vetting process for purchasing firearms is only three days. In many cases the ATF isn’t able to complete this background search within this small window which means that the gun can legally be sold. Without a database to track gun sales and to keep profiles on potentially dangerous citizens, guns could very easily fall into the wrong hands. Seventy-nine percent of Americans favor measures to prevent mentally-ill people from purchasing weapons and fifty-seven percent of Americans favor a blanket ban on all fully automatic weapons. Even with such broad support for gun purchasing reform, the gun lobbyists hold a lot of legislative power in their hands, due to financially backing candidates that agree with them and also the dedicated citizens that protest whenever gun control bills spring up.
How does our bill get to the floor of Congress?
It is sponsored by a congress man and is sent to the committee that is concerned with similar issues. The committee will then have a hearing where they decide to bring the bill to the whole senate or house. It is then voted on there in front of all the representatives.
What happens to our bill after the one house approves it?
After one of the houses approves of the bill it is then sent to the other house. It will then have to be passed in that house as well. If it is indeed passed by both houses it then moves on to the next step
How does our bill get to the President?
If a bill is approved by both the House and the Senate it then move on to the president where he decides what to do with it there.
What options does the president have?
The president has two options. He can either sign the bill into law and approve its validity. He could also veto the bill. After ten days of a veto the bill then goes back into both houses and then has to be approved by both again. It then makes its way back to the president and he then can choose what to do with it again. If he vetoes again, congress can overrule it and force the bill into a law.
How long might it take for us to get our legislation passed?
I is almost impossible to say how long it would take for the bill to get passed into a law. It could take from 9 months to any number of years. That is considering it is approved by both of the houses and is not vetoed.
If we are not successful in passing federal legislation, what executive, judicial, or state-level legislative actions can we pass?
The Governor. While the Legislature is in session, the Governor has 10 days (not counting Sundays) to sign or veto bills passed by both houses. Signed bills become law; vetoed bills do not. However, the Governor's failure to sign or veto a bill within the 10-day period means that it becomes state law automatically.
An Initiative is a process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law.
The case has to first go through the 2 lower branches of the court system before being presented to the Supreme Court. We can then represent the side we choose and help them win their case to the best of our ability.
To participate in an Amicus Curiae brief, we wouldn't be an active party in the case. We could instead provide some forms of council to the party we wish to support in the ongoing case.
To change the constitution we would have to propose a change in the 2nd amendment. This would take a lot of support from congress and the citizens of the U.S. It has been tried before but has never succeeded, it is very unlikely to happen if tried.
An executive order could help us if it is good for our cause. We could lobby the president's cabinet to influence his decisions on executive orders. This might work in our favor.
The problem that we might have with concurrent powers is between the federal and state government. If the Government says guns are illegal, but a state does not there is a major conflict there that is not easily solved. It would also spark a dislike of a certain wing of government and that would cause more problems for the state and the federal government.