Congressional vote to restore self-defense in national parks could come today [UPDATE: Pro-Gun Vote Tally 279-147!]

By Chad D. Baus

While sky-high gun and ammo sales, and comments from Obama cabinet officials advocating new gun bans continue to dominate media coverage, a couple of pieces of legislation are being held up in Congress due to the attachment of pro-gun amendments.

Earlier in the Spring, when Democrats pushed a bill which sought to give the District of Columbia congressional representation, pro-gun legislators introduced an amendment designed to restore gun rights in the District. The bill, which had a great deal of momentum and was expected to pass, ground to a halt when enough Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the amendment. The Democrats' successful election strategy of running pro-gun candidates in rural districts had back-fired on the majority's liberal leadership.

Last week, it happened again. A bi-partisan coalition of pro-gun Senators (27 Democrats and one independent joining 39 Republicans) succeeded attaching an amendment that would restore self-defense rights to visitors of the country's national parks to a bill purported to "reform" the credit card industry.

The principle sponsor of the amendment, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, initially said he expected the amendment to be nixed in a conference committee. This week, however, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has signaled that there are enough pro-gun votes in the House to concur with the Senate amendment, and also to move ahead with efforts to restore gun rights to D.C. residents.

From a Politico.com story entitled "Steny Hoyer says Democrats beaten on guns":

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer all but conceded Tuesday that Democrats have been beaten on the gun issue for now.

Republicans have been increasingly using pro-gun amendments to throw a wrench into Democratic legislation, attaching amendments to seemingly unrelated bills allowing for expanded gun carrying privileges in national parks.

The tactic seems to be working.

"There clearly is a majority in both houses that the Second Amendment rights ... that relate to the national parks are too restricted," Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. "The reality is that a majority in both houses agree with that position."

Republicans have slowed down a D.C. voting rights bill using the tactic, though a credit card bill with an amendment allowing for expanded ability to carry guns in national parks is widely expected to pass both houses.

Hoyer vowed Tuesday that the D.C. voting rights bill would pass "one way or another."

"It's gonna happen," he said.

While it's far too soon to declare victory (even if the votes come down as Hoyer predicts, they must be signed into law by President Obama), an editorial in the Wall Street Journal singles out these votes as evidence that "liberals have lost the gun control debate even within their own party." The votes, the editorial asserts, show how "the political cause of gun control is as dead as a mounted moose."

According to the Associated Press, Rep. Hoyer told reporters that the House could vote separately on the gun legislation. Doing so would allow each measure to pass, but Democrats who endorse credit card reform could still vote as they wished on the gun measure.

Hoyer said the two bills would then be rejoined and sent to the president as a single bill.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.

UPDATE: FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 277

Here is how our Ohio representatives voted:

Austria Yes
Boccieri Yes
Boehner Yes
Driehaus Yes
Jordan Yes
LaTourette Yes
Latta Yes
Ryan Yes
Schmidt Yes
Space Yes
Tiberi Yes
Turner Yes
Wilson Yes

Fudge No
Kaptur No
Kucinich No
Kilroy No
Sutton No