What happened? The NRA happened ...
National Rifle Assn: Lobbying
Bills Lobbied, 2012 opensecrets.org
Bill Number Congress Bill Title No. of Reports & Specific Issues*
H.R.420 112 Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2011 12
H.R.58 112 Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act 11
H.R.615 112 Collectible Firearms Protection Act 11
S.570 112 A bill to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns. 11
H.R.645 112 Second Amendment Enforcement Act 10
H.R.1558 112 To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to certain sporting good articles, and to exempt those articles from a definition under that Act. 10
H.R.822 112 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 8
S.381 112 Collectible Firearms Protection Act 8
S.32 112 Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act 7
H.R.308 112 Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act 7
H.R.1865 112 Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act of 2011 6
H.R.591 112 To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows. 6
S.176 112 Common Sense Concealed Firearms Permit Act of 2011 6
S.2066 112 Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act 6
S.2188 112 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012 6
S.35 112 Gun Show Background Check Act of 2011 6
[... many more ...]
OK, how much did the NRA
pay Lobbyists to stand in the way of Bills like S.35? --
Bills that they don't really like ...
link
OK, what was S.35 about again?
S. 35 (112th): Gun Show Background Check Act of 2011
Introduced:
Jan 25, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
Library of Congress Summary -- govtrack.us
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
1/25/2011--Introduced.
Gun Show Background Check Act of 2011 -- Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require registration of gun show promoters and to set forth the responsibilities of promoters, licensees, and other transferors.
Provides that if any part of a firearm transaction takes place at a gun show, each licensed importer, manufacturer, and dealer who transfers one or more firearms to a person who is not licensed shall, within 10 days after the transfer, submit a report of the transfer to the Attorney General. Sets forth penalties for violations.
Grants the Attorney General authority to enter the place of business of any gun show promoter and any place where a gun show is held, during business hours and without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant, for purposes of examining records and the inventory of licensees conducting business to determine compliance with this Act.
Increases penalties for:
(1) serious record-keeping violations by licensees; and
(2) violations of criminal background check requirements.
And what exactly happened to S.35 again?
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)
Why did S.35 die in the halls of Congress?
Because of stuff like this:
Specific Issues Reports for S.35 by National Rifle Assn , 112th Congress
Report Content of Specific Issue field
H.R.822, National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011; S.381/H.R.615, Collectible Firearms Protection Act; H.R.509/S.249, To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that Act shall not apply to the gray wolf (canis lupus); H.R.510, Idaho and Montana Wolf Management Act of 2011; S.570, A bill to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns; H.R.58, Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act; H.R.420, Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2011; H.R.645, To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia; H.R.308, Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act; H.R.591, Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2011/S.35, Gun Show Background Check Act of 2011; H.R.1093, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform Act of 2011; S.32, Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act; S.34, Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2011; S.176, Common Sense Concealed Firearms Permit Act of 2011; H.R.2210, Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2011; H.R.1558, To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to certain sporting good articles, and to exempt those articles from a definition under that Act; H.R.1445, To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle; S.2066/H.R.2834, Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act; Issues related to firearms regulation, natural resources and hunting.
[... many more ...]
And what's was in,
just one of those many, many NRA-sponsored "silencing" reports?
larger image
BUT didn't proposed bill S.35, for stronger Background Checks, didn't it have any co-sponsors ... those who would fight for the merits of the bill?
As a matter of fact it did ...
Sponsor(s) and Co-Sponsor(s) of S.35:
opensecrets.org
Bill sponsor(s): 1
Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Bill co-sponsor(s): 14
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
John Kerry (D-MA)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
But sadly they weren't enough, to get the congressional job done.
They needed more co-sponsors ... It just so happened, they needed us.