Gun Show Pros And Cons

Despite the 90 percent of Americas in support of the bill, the Gun Show Background Check Act of 2013 failed to become a law--even after several rounds of amendments. Arriving in the wake of numerous mass shootings around the country, President Obama pushed for the Gun Show Background Check Act that would require all gun show operators to have registered with the Attorney General, have a specific photo ID, and to sign a ledger acknowledging that all requirements and protocols have been met. Additionally, it would require those wishing to purchase said firearms from gun shows to have a background check and have their weapons registered with the Attorney General in ten days’ time after the sale. The final vote in the Senate was 54 to 46 and

However, the President has relatively few powers compared to Congress. In addition to signing bills into laws once they pass through Congress, the president may also veto a bill and leave it up to Congress to override or revise the bill. Furthermore, presidents can issue proclamations or executive orders (during emergencies), which completely bypass Congress and would require a bill to then override his executive order should they choose to do so. However, unless the bill passes through Congress, the President does not come in contact with it, and has to wait until it is passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate for him/her to be able to sign it into a law or veto it. Presidents become the spokesperson for bills like the Gun Show Background Check Act and promote them with persuasive speeches and events, urging Americans to exert pressure on law makers. After the defeat of the gun control bill, President Obama somberly stated, “All in all, this is a pretty shameful day for Washington…The American people are trying to figure out—how can something that has a 90 percent support not happen?” (McAuliff)

This is called the ad hoc rule, in which allows the end to a filibuster only if 60 senators vote in support of it. Filibusters are delays or efforts to “Hold the Senate floor in order to prevent action on a bill” ("Filibuster”). Even with several Republicans following the Democrats and supporting the bill, some Democrats opposed the bill due to being from pro-gun states. Interest groups are extremely vital to the legislative process and—in the case of this bill-- the complete lack of connection between the people and the senators. The NRA played a leading role in the defeat of the Gun Show Background Check Bill. Their sheer size alone, consisting of four million members and lobbyists, became a force to be reckoned with. Being that their members are highly passionate about their group, unfortunately it is often less threatening for a senator to side with the NRA than their views than risk their career. The NRA threatened that they would retaliate against supporters of the bill and “called the expanded background checks a first step toward a national gun registry and government confiscation of firearms” (Barrett, Cohen) (Sidlow, Henschen)