Gun Control: expanded background checks fail to pass in the Senate.
Democrats, you can thank Harry Reid, who once again let the party down and allowed himself to be wuss bullied by the NRA, even after children were gunned down in the Sandy Hook Shooting. Senator Reid was one of the no votes, including these dems: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
Remember the names: Baucus, Begich, Heitkamp, Pryor, and Reid. Five Democrats. Five. And you would say “we needed six,” but the point is, even if Democrats would have been one vote short, that, alone would have made a huge statement to the electorate. There should have been no ‘noes’ from Dems.
What’s particularly bothersome is Senator Heidi Heitkamp.
The newly elected Senator from North Dakota was one of the darlings of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, with her supporters, and even Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Executive Director Guy Cecil talking about how important it was to get her elected.
Well, now Heidi Heitkamp is in the Senate, and she’s failed her first true important test as a democrat. She went against the American people, and with the NRA.
Yesterday, the unbelievable happened: the Senate rejected a perfectly good piece of legislation called the Manchin-Toomey Bill that, if passed, would have expanded background checks for gun purchases to online platforms. Indeed, that’s a problem this blogger focused on less than a month ago, during a Zennie62 blog post blasting a conservative pundit for saying that assault weapons aren’t military-style, when, as the blog post proved, they are.
The Manchin-Toomey Amendment Was Supposed To Pass
An emotional President Obama stood with former Arizona Representative Cathy Giffords and relatives of the Sandy Hook Shooting victims to share their views of what the Senate did.
Here’s a look at how each U.S. Senator voted on the Manchin-Toomey amendment to expand background checks for gun purchases when it came up for a vote on Wednesday. The bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to move forward, gaining 54.
Yeas (54)
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del.
Sen. William “Mo” Cowan, D-Mass.
Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D.N.H.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Nays (46)
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Source: U.S. Senate