Harry Reid Goes for Assault Weapons Ban

Well, this is interesting, at NYT, "Background Checks in Peril as Reid Backs Gun Curbs":

WASHINGTON — As the Senate began debate on a number of gun measures on Wednesday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, broke his long faith with the National Rifle Association and said he would vote for a ban on assault weapons.

“We must strike a better balance between the right to defend ourselves and the right of every child in America to grow up safe from gun violence,” Mr. Reid said from the Senate floor Wednesday morning.

“I’ll vote for the ban because maintaining the law and order is more important than satisfying conspiracy theorists who leave in black helicopters and false flags,” he said. “I’ll vote for the ban because saving the lives of police officers, young and old, and innocent civilians, young and old, is more important than preventing imagined tyranny,” he said.

The Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon on gun measures that may determine the shape of legislation inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn.

By late Tuesday night, a bipartisan amendment to the legislation, which would expand background checks for gun buyers, seemed all but doomed as two members who the measure’s sponsors had hoped would support it announced they would not.

Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, citing constitutional worries, said he would vote against it. And late Tuesday night, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said she too would reject the amendment, and threw her support behind a competing Republican measure. A handful of Democrats who were key to its passage would not commit to voting for it, and seemed increasingly likely to turn against the measure as its prospects for passage dimmed.

Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said Wednesday he was still scrambling for votes on the background check amendment that he created with Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania.

Wasn't someone recently proposing intelligence tests for government officials?

Yeah. Okay.

Put the Senate Democrats at the front of the line. These people are f-king idiots.