H.R.2640 Passed House

Looks like the bill has passed on a voice vote. Now it’s on to the senate. Given the speed at which it moved through the house, I don’t expect the senate to take long on it at all.

The NRA did win some concessions in negotiating the final product.

It would automatically restore the purchasing rights of veterans who were diagnosed with mental problems as part of the process of obtaining disability benefits. LaPierre said the Clinton administration put about 80,000 such veterans into the background check system.

It also outlines an appeals process for those who feel they have been wrongfully included in the system and ensures that funds allocated to improve the NICS are not used for other gun control purposes.

“It was necessary to make some accommodations to address the concerns of gun owners,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., adding that he would be closely monitoring the provision on restoring gun rights to veterans judged to have mental disabilities.

Ron Paul, as would be expected, was the lone dissenter. Like I said, I would like to have gotten more out of this deal, but I’m not going to cry too much that it’s passing. In the big picture, it doesn’t really change much.

4 thoughts on “H.R.2640 Passed House”

  1. Damn, negotiate in secret, and then ram it through as fast as possible.

    So it’s been on Thomas for what, one day? A few hours before the vote? A few seconds?

    This is probably what they wanted to do with the immigration bill, didn’t work there.

    I know Wayne and the NRA disagree, but if this gives the BATFE the power to decide who is a prohibited person, it’s a gun control law.

  2. Moving a bill through this fast only can really happen if it’s pretty much non-controversial (at least from the Congres Critter’s point of view). From my reading of the bill, it doesn’t appear to give the ATF any new power to make determinations of status that they don’t already have. It would have been nice to get some clarification on that, but that probably would have added controversy.

    I’m actually pleased it’s sailing through. The faster it moves, the less chance there is of amendments being tacked on. It’s all been worked out ahead of time. This is actually a good deal for us. Hammering this stuff out on the floor greatly increases the probability someone will attach something we really don’t like, like a new assault weapons ban, or worse.

  3. I’m a little rusty on House procedures…

    Is a voice vote just :
    All in favor say ‘Aye’…
    All opposed say ‘Nay’…
    ?
    So there is no record of how many or who voted?
    Just curious.

    One thing I find annoying is that everyone is creating a political spin on this and are claiming to be the ‘mover and shaker’ behind this bill.

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