Politics

Democratic Rep Promises To ‘Abolish’ The Filibuster And ‘Expand’ The Supreme Court If He Doesn’t Get His Way On Gun Control

Screenshot via C-SPAN

Michael Ginsberg Congressional Correspondent
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Democratic New York Rep. Mondaire Jones promised during a Thursday hearing that Democrats would abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court if their latest gun control proposal does not become law.

The Protect Our Kids Act, introduced by New York Rep. and committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, would prohibit individuals under the age of 21 from purchasing several types of semi-automatic rifles, require gun owners to store weapons using gun safes or other devices and expand regulation of bump stocks. It is unlikely to pass the Senate.

Jones is co-sponsoring a bill that would add four justices to the Supreme Court and has called on Senate Democrats to eliminate the parliamentary procedure to pass legislation that would nationalize election laws. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a vote to eliminate the filibuster in January, but Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona opposed the move. (RELATED: In Fiery Speech, Sinema Says Eliminating Filibuster Will ‘Worsen The Underlying Disease Of Division)

“You will not stop us from advancing the Protecting Our Kids Act today. You will not stop us from passing it in the House next week and you will not stop us. If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it. And we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation in our communities. Each and every day, we will do whatever it takes to end gun violence, whatever it takes,” Jones said.

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“Before we believed that you might do what the people overwhelmingly support and help advance common-sense gun violence legislation. Now we know it is up to us to save ourselves from you. We did not choose this fight. We had our own dreams for our lives, the same as you did when you were kids, but we can‘t let you get away with it anymore. Enough is enough. Enough of you telling us that school shootings are a fact of life when every other country like ours has virtually ended it. Enough of you blaming mental illness and then defunding mental health care in this country. Enough of your thoughts and prayers. Enough. Enough,” Jones continued.

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan responded that Jones’ comments showed Democrat objections to the GOP and groups like the National Rifle Association were pretextual.

“Now we know where they want to go,” Jordan said. “They’ve told us what they want to do. Their real beef is with the Second Amendment. Think about what this bill does. It tells law-abiding citizens when you can get a gun, what kind of gun you can get, what kind of accessories you can get for your gun, and where and how you have to store it in your own darn home.”