Senate GOP puts NRA ahead of troops

In case you missed it, Senate Republicans, fearing some unwanted amendments to the defense appropriations bill, moved the National Rifle Association's top priority ahead of the $491 billion defense bill, setting up a vote on legislation to shield firearms manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits over gun crimes.

Completion of the defense bill, which the Senate had been debating for a week, will now be delayed until fall. If you had any doubt about GOP priorities, now you know.

From The Gun Guys:

Does anyone support the gun immunity bill? Okay, let's qualify that. Does anyone who doesn't thinking owning a tank is a constitutional right support the gun immunity bill? We're just wondering, because just about every editorial page in America is trouncing the NRA's logic. We haven't read reviews this bad since Battlefield Earth came out.

"When this misguided immunity bill comes up for a vote, responsible senators must find a way to head it off or to summon the courage to vote no." The New York Times

"Outrageous." New Jersey Herald News

"That the Senate would turn away from important national security legislation to deal with a special plea from a powerful lobbying group is unsavory enough. But, just as important, the bill itself is both unnecessary and harmful." The Christian Science Monitor

"Politicians too often put the interests of the powerful gun lobby over the people they're elected to represent and protect. The U.S. Senate is poised to do it again." Detroit Free-Press

"Why would gun-makers deserve legal immunity and not the manufacturers, say, of lawn mowers? Answer: the NRA's political clout. The irony is that the Senate postponed work on a defense bill to consider gun legislation that will assure America's streets remain unsafe." Philadelphia Inquirer

" If the NRA and Mr. Frist had had their way, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the gun dealer that negligently allowed the Bushmaster rifle to reach the hands of Washington snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, would not have been successfully sued by families of six victims and the two victims who survived the ambushes." The Washington Post

"The Senate should turn back latest attempt to shield gun industry from legal action." Indianapolis Star

"Apparently, the National Rifle Association, which has pushed for this bill for years, has more clout in Congress than do the troops who are fighting for their country." Winston-Salem Journal
But the greatest quote of all comes from those zany liberals in Florida (can you smell the sarcasm seeping out of your monitor). From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist doesn't need fancy electronic gizmos to keep track of his schedule. It appears the National Rifle Association does it for him."

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To the Guns Guys' collection I would add: "This dangerous measure deserves defeat." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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UPDATE: One piece of good news. The Senate did adopt an amendment by Sen. Herb Kohl to require child trigger locks to be included with every handgun purchase. It passed 70-30. Reuters report. JS story.