Earlier today, the U.S. Senate mustered 54 votes in favor of the Manchin-Toomey background check compromise—which was six votes shy of the 60 necessary to break a filibuster.
The vote drew the ire of many supporters of the legislation, from Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords’ Americans for Responsible Solutions (“We will use every means possible to make sure the constituents of these senators know that their elected representatives ignored them, and put Washington, DC special interest politics over the effort to keep their own communities safer from the tragedy of gun violence,” said in a statement released earlier today) to President Obama (“…all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,” said earlier).
Among the upset: Patricia Maisch, survivor of the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting, who watched the loss from the gallery—and made her voice heard as she left.
From Slate:
“Shame on you!” yelled Maisch.
Typically, when someone yells from the gallery, security hustles to bounce the heckler out of the room. Maisch wasn’t elbowed out very quickly. Two years ago, she was one of the people who effectively shut down Jared Loughner’s rampage. She saw him coming, she lay on the ground, and when Loughner fumbled his reload and was tackled, Maisch snatched away his extra magazine. And no one really ushered her out of the Hill today as she told reporters why she yelled.
“I could not stay still,” she said, standing in a scrum of reporters. “They should be ashamed of themselves … if it had been a yes vote, I wouldn’t have said anything. It was spontaneous—but I was prepared to do that.”
She gave her info and story a few times before one of the other activists started to usher her out. One reporter asked her what she thought of Sen. Jeff Flake’s no vote on the amendment. “Sen. Flake?” she said. “I’m embarrassed. He’s a flaky flake.”
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2013.
I am pleased that the vote turned out as it did. There have been few positive steps to protect our fundamental rights, as so clearly defined by our Founding Fathers.
While I do not personally own a gun and have no plans to get one, I do want the right to do so without the government knowing I have one. I did however, join the NRA when this foolishness started as it is one of the few groups left that does not trip over the politically correct gesturer of the moment, but rather stays true to its position popular or not.
Kick ASS Gabby!
@Unkink, I hope you don’t suffer a tragic loss. You are to be PITIED.
Thank you, Pat Maisch. You have more courage than any of these butt-licking, cowardly NRA political whores.