106 Congress
...two political parties have barely even kept the government running. Only until recently have they passed Appropriation Bills for the 2001 fiscal year in a lame-duck session. This congress has made little progress in resolving their differences on some of the most important issues.
Gun control is at the forefront of American politics. Gun violence has soared in recent years, and many tragedies such as the Columbine school shooting have occurred. All Americans want a reduction in gun related violence but gun control is still a decisive issue.
On March 3rd, 2000, the then junior Senator from New York, Charles E. Schumer, introduced the Effective National Firearms Objectives for Responsible, Commonsense Enforcement Act of 2000. S.2338 was a bill to enhance the enforcement of gun violence laws. Twelve other Senators including New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan cosponsored this bill.
This legislation was an attempt at amending the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Its purpose was to increase appropriations to Federal prosecutors of Firearm Laws, authorize the appropriations of 600 additional firearm agents and inspectors, give greater authority to the Attorney General to prosecute violations of Federal Firearms Laws, bans violent felons from buying and handling firearms and ammunitions, and increase the penalties and fines of illegal gun sales.
S. 2338 was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The twelve Senators who sponsored this piece of legislation were
mostly Democratic. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, worked along party lines. He effectively pigeonholed this bill without considering it for review. Pigeonholing is a practice of ignoring a piece of legislation and letting it die in committee.
Many special interest groups were interested in the outcome of this...
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