There's a new "compromise" piece of gun control legislation, being pushed by what looks a a gang of six. I think this is the legislation that Mitch McConnell said he would be open to, which means it has a better chance of passage that anything else that's been offered. McConnell would probably love to get this issue off the table before the election by passing something he can point to when Bloomberg starts running ads with his pocket change.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's a new surveillance bill in the works. Among other things, it would allow someone's web browsing history to be collected without a warrant -- something that inherently reveals the content of the pages they were wearing. It would also make certain provisions of the Patriot Act permanent, which would be a disastrous mistake given what the original legislation does to civil liberties. The FBI, never one to be shy about surveillance requests, is claiming that the current requirement to go to a secret court and get a court order before obtaining browser history is a typo.
My gut says there's an informal deal going on to pass both pieces of legislation together; some gun control to placate the Democrats and some surveillance to placate the Republican Establishment. As usual with these deals, the liberty-loving folks are left out in the cold.
When the leadership wants something like this to pass, they usually rush it through as fast as possible to people won't have time to read it and mobilize opposition. That means we need to start objecting immediately.
UPDATE: Word is that the surveillance legislation failed by just one vote and they haven't given up on it yet. (You can check how your senator voted at that link) No word yet on the Ayotte-Collins gun control legislation. Rumors swirling about Obama calling for a new assault weapons ban despite Pelosi saying they couldn't win that fight.
This entry was published Wed Jun 22 08:18:18 CDT 2016 by TriggerFinger
and last updated 2016-06-23 12:34:55.0.
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