I just got off the phone with a staffer for Senator Cruz of Texas. I was urging the Senator to not block the vote today on background checks on gun sales and expressed bewilderment that he would filibuster such a vote. I told the guy that 80-90% of his constituents support background checks. He gave a variety of answers, and I have included each with my response to him below:
“There has been no poll on the bill” – true, but there have been many polls on universal background checks, specifically at gun shows and online sales, which is what the Toomy-Manchin bill addresses.
“What poll are you siting sir? Do you have a date” – all of them dude. all of them. how about a Fox News poll that showed 80% of Republicans, even a majority of Tea Partiers support these policies (that shut him up fast): Fox News poll: Majorities support new gun measures | Fox News.
“Even Biden said background checks wouldn’t have stopped the last school shooting” – maybe so but with tens of thousands of gun deaths each year you’ve got to be crazy to think that stopping criminals from walking into gun shows and buying a gun no questions asked won’t reduce gun violence. Plus, Al Q’aeda’s training manual specifically mentions our loose gun laws and gun shows as a way to easily buy weapons without scrutiny. Why would anyone block a vote on such a bill?
“The majority of people calling our office today are opposed to the bill” – of course they are, because the NRA is telling them it’s a 2nd Amendment issue when it’s not. If you’re not a criminal, you pass a background check, you buy a gun. Do a poll in the neighborhood where those people are calling from and 80% of the Republicans there support this policy. And that still doesn’t explain why you would filibuster vs. just voting against it.
Bottom line: please call you Senator asap. there are a lot more NRA people calling against than regular people calling in support. Vote is at 4 PM. Please call right now.
