Senate ‘Gun Control’ Legislation Crashes on the Rocks After GOP Negotiator Walks Out – Opinion

Senate negotiations over “gun control” legislation broke down abruptly on Thursday after Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) walked out. Both Republicans and Democrats seemed to support the first framework, which was likely to allow for swift passage.

As Washington has always said, the devil is often in the details. Who could have predicted that Democrats would try to get a few more apples along the way?

The report can be found at Reuters

A Republican leader negotiator at the U.S. Senate talks toward a bipartisan Gun Safety Bill walked out on Thursday. It lowered the probability of a vote before the senators depart for the two-week July Fourth recess.

John Cornyn, Senator of Texas, told reporters that although he did not abandon negotiations, he was returning home to Texas in the face of difficulty in reaching an agreement.

“It’s fish or cut bait,” he said. “I don’t know what they have in mind, but I’m through talking.”

As Cornyn points out, it’s supposed to be time to fish or cut bait. Given the release of the framework, what are they still trying to negotiate about? The recess was approaching, so they should have reached an agreement on the final text.

Apparently, the hold-up involves two provisions: One dealing with funding for so-called “red flag” laws, and the “boyfriend loophole,” which is arguably not actually a loophole.

But in the days since, the talks have become bogged down in disagreements over two main provisions: how to provide incentives to states to create red flag laws, in which guns can be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed dangerous, and the “boyfriend loophole,” which allows authorities to block abusive spouses from buying firearms, but does not cover people who are not married.

Cornyn knows that most red states won’t try to enact red flag laws, and he wants those states to have the discretion to use that money on mental health services–one of the things that might actually prevent crazed high-school students from shooting people. Democrats are objecting for some reason, even though they’ve never previously met a dollar they didn’t want to spend.

As to the “boyfriend loophole,” I’m skeptical there are enough safeguards in place to enact such a law without it being abused. RedState colleagues recently noted that you need only look at Title IX’s federal abuse to see what can go wrong.

If you want to understand what “closing the boyfriend loophole” opens the door to, check out what goes on in Title IX sexual harassment/assault hearings in colleges. You are open to any woman who has been out with you once and wants revenge, even if you don’t have to cohabit. Get a temporary restraining order to keep the other person from putting you in serious danger. If you can’t qualify for a restraining order, then maybe vindictiveness, not personal safety, is your goal.

Regardless of what’s causing this “gun control” legislation to crash on the rocks, it’s a welcome development for many on the right that recognize the Democrats are not operating in good faith. Joe Biden said that neither he nor his party would accept compromise. Why compromise? Don’t give your political enemies the power!

Many Republicans might support this bill if it were possible to guarantee that the end of the line would occur in an alternate universe. There are some good things in it, and as gun-control bills go, it’s very mundane, not actually targeting any guns via bans, restrictions, etc. But we don’t live in that alternate universe. Cornyn could be starting to realize this even though it is too late.

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