A Junkie posting yesterday talked about the defeat in the Senate of a proposed amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) that would allow those with concealed gun permits to carry their guns across state lines, assuming the states they were entering also had a concealed gun-permit law.

In the post I wrote the following: "In a victory for gun-control advocates, the Senate voted in favor of the bill 58-39 -- two short of the 60 votes needed."

For that explanation, I was taken to task -- justifiably -- by Paul Weimer. I reprint his comment here:

No offense, Ken, but this sentence is incomplete and misleading. I know it's a shorthand that has regrettably infected even NPR, but what you mean to say is that the bill did not get the 60 votes for cloture. Its not the same thing as defeating the bill at all. After all, 58 Senators voted for a bill cutting off funding for the F-22 and the bill passed.

Paul, of course, is right. If 58 senators voting to kill the F-22 is a defeat for the fighter plane, why would 58 votes in favor of the Thune amendment be seen as a defeat for the pro-gun forces?

I used Beltway shorthand and failed to explain that the 58 votes were two shy of what the pro-Thune forces needed to beat back a filibuster. So while a clear majority of the Senate did indeed support the measure, it was not enough. And thus, a victory for the gun-control forces.

Two Republicans -- Lugar (IN) and Voinovich (OH) voted against it, along with 35 Democrats and two independents. Every other Republican and 20 Democrats supported it. Here are the 20 Dems who voted to pass the amendment (names in bold are seeking election in 2010):

Baucus (MT), Bayh (IN), Begich (AK), Bennet (CO), Casey (PA), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Feingold (WI), Hagan (NC), Johnson (SD), Landrieu (LA), Lincoln (AR), Nelson (NE), Pryor (AR), Reid (NV), Tester (MT), Udall (CO), Udall (NM), Warner (VA), and Webb (VA).

categories: On The Floor

1:31 - July 23, 2009

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