The only thing worse than Congress passing stronger gun control law is Congress weakening the ones already in existence. According to a Washington Post article, this is exactly what may happen if the NRA and its lobbyists have their way.
As the Senate prepares to begin debate next week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that have the potential to do the opposite — loosening many of the restrictions that exist in current law.
Most worrisome to those who advocate new gun limits is an expected amendment that would achieve one of the National Rifle Association’s biggest goals: a “national reciprocity” arrangement, in which a gun owner who receives a permit to carry a concealed weapon in any one state would then be allowed to do that anywhere in the country. Other pro-gun proposals would make it easier for dealers to sell their merchandise between states or let certain people who had been treated for mental illness regain the right to buy weapons.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
The Washington Post article indicates that Reid's agreement to allow amendments was why the Republicans allowed a vote on the bill rather than blocking it.
Even the recent "bipartisan compromise" reached between Senators Manchin and Toomey contains some weakening provisions in it.
For instance, the breakthrough bipartisan agreement by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) to expand background checks on many firearms purchases, which will be the first item upon which the Senate votes, also includes the language allowing gun dealers to more easily market and sell their products between states.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
As much as I would like to see Congress do something on guns, I want the "something" to be something that strengthens the existing gun control laws, not weakens them. It is one thing to have a watered down bill which does very little, and another thing to have a bill which actually makes it easier for people to obtain guns. And I think that ultimately supporters of gun control will need to look at the final bill and decide whether in the end the positives of the bill outweigh the negatives. But after reading the article in The Washington Post, I think that there is at least some possibility that we will be asking our representatives to vote "no" rather than "yes" on the final version of the gun control bill.
The victims of Sandy Hook deserve better. We cannot let the NRA turn this tragedy into an opportunity to expand access to guns.