Gubs for the day

Alan Fram has an Associated Press article at Philly.com about gubs:

Congress' most serious gun-control effort in years cleared its first hurdle, as the Senate pushed past conservatives' attempted blockade under the tearful gaze of families of victims of December's Connecticut school shootings.
The bipartisan 68-31 vote rebuffed an effort to keep debate from starting, giving an early victory to President Obama and his gun-control allies. Four months after twenty first graders and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown were killed, relatives watching the vote from a gallery overlooking the Senate floor dabbed at tears and clasped hands, some seeming to pray.
Even so, few supporters of tougher gun measures are confident of victory. Several weeks of emotional, unpredictable Senate debate lie ahead, and a mix of gun-rights amendments, opposition from the National Rifle Association, and skepticism from House Republican leaders leave big questions about what will emerge from Congress. Foes of the proposed new restrictions say the legislation would penalize law-abiding citizens and do nothing to curb gun violence. "The hard work starts now," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who brought the legislation to the floor for debate.
Still, in a Congress marked by a lack of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, the vote was a notable display of rapport across party lines.
Hoping to pressure Congress to act, supporters of new restrictions have been demonstrating in Washington. They have erected a mock graveyard with thousands of crosses on the National Mall, symbolizing victims of gun violence.
The Senate's legislation would subject nearly all gun buyers to background checks, add muscle to federal laws barring illicit firearm sales, and provide slightly more money for school-safety measures. Excluded, and facing near-certain defeat, were proposals to ban military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. But keeping those provisions out of the legislation did not mollify critics.
Opponents said the remaining proposals were unwarranted intrusions on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, would be ignored by criminals, and would do little to prevent future Newtowns. Obama's plans have received scant support from Republicans and many moderate Democrats, with many saying they prefer improvements in dealing with the mentally ill and stronger enforcement of existing laws. "I'm not interested in a symbolic gesture which would offer the families of the Sandy Hook shootings no real solutions that they seek," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate's number two Republican.
Congress has not approved major gun restrictions since enacting an assault-weapons ban nineteen years ago, a prohibition that lawmakers let lapse after a decade. Some potential amendments could broaden gun rights and weaken supporters' backing for the overall bill.
In the vote, fifty Democrats and two Democratic-leaning independents were joined by sixteen Republicans in voting to begin debate on the legislation. Twenty-nine Republicans and two Democrats facing reelection next year in GOP-leaning states voted "no": Alaska's Mark Begich and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
All six Pennsylvania-area Senators voted to proceed, except Senator Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, who has been in ill health and did not vote.
Reaction from Pennsylvanians has "run the entire spectrum from people who are very, very pleased and very supportive and people who are not at all pleased", said Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, who helped broker a compromise on expanded background checks. "I do believe, however, the more people learn about what this bill actually does, how it does it, how reasonable it is, the fact that it doesn't undermine any law-abiding citizen's Second Amendment rights, I think support will grow." He posted a full text of the bill on his Senate website.
Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, who favors banning assault weapons and high-capacity clips, issued a statement, saying in part: "I'm encouraged by the bipartisan agreement that has been reached on background checks. While it's not everything I want, it is a start."
After the roll call, President Obama spoke by phone with some Newtown families and said he would "keep fighting for the votes they deserve", said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Rico says even he is torn about all this; while no parent should ever have to undergo a Newtown-like tragedy, hacking away at the Second Amendment is not the solution...