When Congress wants to pass a gun law they really do know how to do it. And when they want to get something done, they can pass a stand alone gun bill into law in just one week.
On December 2, 2013 Rep. Howard Coble (R, NC-6) and co-sponsor Rep. David Isreal (D, NY-3) introduced H.R.3626 to extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years.
The Act prohibits the manufacture or possession of firearms that are not detectable by the types of x-ray machines commonly used at airports.
The next day
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D, MI-13) signed on as co-sponsor and the bill passed the House with
a simple voice vote, and
without any amendments. On December 9th, it was "[r]eceived in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and
passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent." [my bold]
The very same day it was sent to President Obama, who signed it immediately.
Let's go below the fold to look at the timeline of what a functioning 113th Congress could do in just one week.
Please consider this an extra Open Thread this week.
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Such a rare bipartisan accomplishment deserves some respect. Let's look at [this ahem achievement ahem] again in timeline form. H.R.3626 to extend the The Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988.
A Timeline
- 12/02/2013 Introduced in House
- 12/03/2013 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H7418)
- 12/09/2013 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S8554-8556)
- 12/09/2013 Presented to President.
- 12/09/2013 Signed by President.
- 12/09/2013 Became Public Law No: 113-57.
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Think Progress
The only gun violence bill that the House of Representatives and Senate passed this year is the Undetectable Firearms Act, a 25-year-old law that tackles a single issue by banning firearms that go unnoticed by a metal detector. [...]
The act requires 3D-printed plastic firearms to contain a small amount of metal, but it carries a loophole that still lets some plastic guns escape screening. For instance, one legal 3D model only requires a small metal nail that can be easily removed.
Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) proposed a stricter version that would require undetatchable metal parts, but Republicans refused the measure. The reauthorization keeps the loophole intact, and follows the National Rifle’s Association recommendation against restricting homemade plastic guns. “The NRA strongly opposes ANY expansion of the Undetectable Firearms Act, including applying the UFA to magazines, gun parts, or the development of new technologies,” an NRA statement on H.R. 3626 said last week. “The NRA has been working for months to thwart expansion of the UFA by Senator Chuck Schumer and others.”
... Continue reading Think Progress.
This is a Call to Action
We pay these people to work for us. They just showed us that they know how to roll up their sleeves and get things done. Whether you want to expand the RKBA or you want tighter regulations on the RKBA please take time to think about what you want your elected leaders to do this year. And once you decide, let them know what you think.
In the Firearms Law and Policy group we study empirical evidence that can support or refute current and new gun policy proposals. We study laws and judicial opinions collaboratively so we can each decide for ourselves which ideas would probably survive their inevitable run up to the Supreme Court and which will probably not pass constitutional muster. We base our discussions on the guideposts in Heller and McDonald, and on the legal reasoning laid out in hundreds of lower court decisions post-Heller.
The 2014 election is less than 10 months away.
Please call your Representatives and your Senators. Be sure to thank them for passing this one gun law and tell them you want a Universal Background Check bill this year. Tell them how disappointed you are with Congressional grandstanding and that you want a Background Check law as a stand alone bill.