BCP 12-13 PRABHAKAR

GUN CONTROL UQ 4/17/13 PAGE 1 OF 1

GUN CONTROL WILL PASS

Not only is Obama not willing to give up the gun control fight, but gun control legislation is also extremely popular with the people. Agence France-Presse 4/17/13 [reporter at the raw story, http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/17/white-house-refuses-toadmit-gun-reform-defeat/] The White House refused to admit defeat despite signs a bid to expand background checks for gun owners will fail later on Wednesday in the US Senate. President Barack Obamas spokesman Jay Carney also lashed out angrily at complaints by Republican Senator Rand Paul that the White House was using families who lost kids in the Newtown school massacre as props. A clutch of votes was expected i n the Senate later on Wednesday, including on the push to expand background checks for gun purchases that has become Obamas main focus in reforming gun laws after last years school killings. But there are increasing signs that the effort, opposed by most Republicans, the powerful gun lobby and some Democrats in conservative or rural states will not get the 60 votes needed for passage. But Carney insisted that the drive for enhanced background checks was not yet dead. This isnt over. Im not going to give a postmortem, said Carney. There is no question that the path to 60 in this case is difficult, but it is not unachievable . If you are opposed to this legislation, you should explain why you are against something that 90 percent of the people are for, that vast majorities of the people in your state support. White House sources said the president had been calling wavering senators to push for support for the background checks bill in the hours before the vote and Carney said everyone in the White House from Obama on down was involved. The presidents spokesman also flashed genuine anger when he was asked about a reported comment from Paul that Obama had used Newtown families who have been lobbying for reforms on Capitol Hill, as props. I dont know if Senator Paul met with the Newtown families. The Newtown families arent here for the president. Theyre here because their children were murdered. Theyre here asking for the Senate to do something that is common sense. An Alternative version of the gun control bill has been suggested, and is backed by the NRA. Jonathan Easley 4/17/13 [Fellow at the Hill, Sens. Grassley and Cruz roll out alternative gun control bill, http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/294499-sens-grassley-and-cruz-present-alternative-gun-bill] Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) unveiled an alternative gun control bill on Wednesday . The announcement comes on a day when the Senate appears likely to block further debate on a bipartisan background checks bill. Rather than restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans, we should be focusing on keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals, which this legislation accomplishes, Cruz said. While the Obama Administration continues to politicize a terrible tragedy to push its anti-gun agenda, I am proud to stand beside my fellow senators to present common-sense measures that will increase criminal prosecutions of felons who try to buy guns, criminalize straw purchasing and gun trafficking, and address mental health issues. Grassley and Cruz, along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind.) introduced the bill at a press conference Wednesday morning, just hours before the Senate will vote on it and other gun control measures. One of the primary criticisms Republicans had before a vote to move forward on a background checks bill last week was that they didnt have time to read it before the vote . Cruz said that despite the late hour, his legislation has 20 co-sponsors and had been circulated among Republicans and Democrats with no negative feedback. He predicted that despite the small window before the vote, the bill would garner bipartisan support. The bill would increase the resources available to prosecutors for violators of gun laws, and creates a Cruz Task Force to prosecute those who fail criminal background checks. The task force is funded through an Asset Forfeiture Fund. The bill criminalizes straw purchasing and trafficking, measures Grassley supported in committee hearings on the gun control bill that will go before the Senate later this month. It also seeks to increase safety at schools, keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, and increases accountability for prosecutions at the executive level by requiring the Department of Justice to submit reports to Congress. The senators were particularly critical of the Obama administrations record of prosecuting background check violations, s aying it only took up a small portion of such cases. The bill does not expand background checks, but rather focuses on making the backgrounds system work betterby encouraging states to report mental health records, Cruz said. The National Rifle Association said it supports the bill.

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