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Eight years ago today, I was sitting in the Senate gallery when Manchin-Toomey, a bipartisan bill to require background checks on every gun sale after the Sandy Hook School mass shooting, failed by just six votes in the Senate.
Let me tell you what’s changed since then... https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/324568092543950848
Let me tell you what’s changed since then... https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/324568092543950848
Four of the votes against the bill were from Democratic Senators: Baucus (Arkansas), Begich (Alaska), Heitkamp (North Dakota) and Pryor (Arkansas). And not a single one of them still has their job.
They bet that the NRA would have their backs for their votes - they were wrong.
They bet that the NRA would have their backs for their votes - they were wrong.
For example, former Sen Mark Pryor voted with the NRA only to have them come into Arkansas and invest millions in now Sen Tom Cotton.
The lesson for Dems: With friends like the NRA, who needs enemies? They were better off voting their conscience and on the side of constituents.
The lesson for Dems: With friends like the NRA, who needs enemies? They were better off voting their conscience and on the side of constituents.
In addition, we held Republicans in blue-leaning states accountable for their “no” votes on Manchin-Toomey. It’s why there’s no longer a Sen Kelly Ayotte - another lesson, but for Republicans where the NRA wasn’t as influential. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/306376-nh-voters-hold-ayotte-accountable-for-gun-control-votes%3famp
Also, it’s important to remember that in 2013, close to a quarter of all Dems in Congress had NRA A-ratings. Today, none do. In fact, they’re proud of their Fs.
This has been a seismic shift in gun safety politics which was once seen by both parties as a third-rail issue.
This has been a seismic shift in gun safety politics which was once seen by both parties as a third-rail issue.
When Manchin-Toomey failed, @momsdemand was just four months old. We pivoted to working in city halls, statehouses, board rooms, school boards. We’ve passed dozens of gun safety laws in states, and weve stopped the NRA’s agenda 90% of the time every year for the past five years.
. @MomsDemand volunteers helped change gun policies at hundreds of restaurants and retailers. Our secure gun storage info has been given to over 1M families via schools and physicians. And we’ve elected gun sense champions in every electoral cycle - from city council to Congress.
In 2016, we stopped the NRA from passing a single piece of priority legislation during the 2 years they had a GOP President and Congress in place. We helped flip the House in 2018, the Virginia assembly in 2019, and the Presidency and Senate in 2020/2021. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/dougschoen/2019/11/23/virginia-elections-prove-gun-safety-is-the-winning-issue-for-2020/amp/
Eight years later, @MomsDemand - with survivors, students and Everytown - is the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, and one of the largest organizations in America - full stop. In fact, with 6M+ members, we’re larger than the NRA. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/24/gun-reform-movement-opportunity-477740
We never gave up. We knew this would be a marathon, not a sprint, and momentum created by the unglamorous, time-consuming, and sometimes heartbreaking heavy lifting of grassroots activism would eventually point the right President and the right Congress in the right direction.
This is that Congress. This is that moment. With the NRA weaker than it’s ever been and the gun safety movement stronger than it’s ever been, NOW is the opportunity to act and build on this momentum and pass background check legislation.
Text CHECKS to 644-33 https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1383426074764189702
Text CHECKS to 644-33 https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1383426074764189702
