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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,111 posts)
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 02:55 PM Nov 2020

Barack Obama Says Congress' Lack of Action After Sandy Hook was 'Angriest' Day of His Presidency

Source: Newsweek

Reflecting back on his presidency, former President Barack Obama said the "angriest" day of his two terms at the White House was when Congress failed to take action in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

"That was, not only maybe the saddest day of my presidency, but when Congress failed to do anything in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, was probably the angriest I ever was during my presidency," Obama told Oprah Winfrey in a new Apple TV+ interview.

"I was disgusted and appalled by the inaction," Obama continued. "Because you had parents who had just lost their children, sitting in front of senators and asking them for very modest, reasonable approaches. This wasn't some radical agenda. They were asking for more effective background checks and other provisions to keep firearms out of the hands of disturbed folks."

On December 14, 2012, a gunman stormed Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut and killed 26 people, including 20 children. The mass shooting remains the second-deadliest school shooting in the U.S.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/barack-obama-says-congress-lack-of-action-after-sandy-hook-was-angriest-day-of-his-presidency/ar-BB1aZD4v?ocid=DELLDHP&li=BBnbfcL

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ck4829

(34,977 posts)
1. A tragic day and to what end? A pedophile getting a "high score"?
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 03:05 PM
Nov 2020

The 112th Congress needs to have this attached to them.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
8. It was the Democratic Senate that killed gun control post Sandy Hook
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 11:44 PM
Nov 2020

The Republican House forced the Senate to take the lead.

chowder66

(9,011 posts)
11. Thanks I didn't know this.
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 12:19 AM
Nov 2020

I just read that they didn't have the votes they needed. They needed 60 but would have only had 55 with Sanders and one Republican (if all of the 15 Democratic Senators switched their vote).

They decided to vote against to keep their seats and their majority.

CBHagman

(16,968 posts)
12. As I recall, it was another of those "motion to proceed" votes...
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 01:15 AM
Nov 2020

...in an era when a supermajority was required just to get an up-or-down vote in the Senate. There were a lot of those in President Obama's second term, though this was one of the most appalling. But the headlines would only state that a bill "failed" in the Senate.

The vote was also before the NRA became tabloid fodder. It seemed a much more powerful organization then.

chowder66

(9,011 posts)
13. Yes. It required 60 votes instead of a simple majority and only one republican
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 11:19 AM
Nov 2020

Here's the article I found;

snip

In addition to Feinstein and the bill's 24 Democratic co-sponsors -- a quarter of the Senate -- 13 other Democrats voted for it. They were joined by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill. On the opposing side, there were 44 Republicans, one independent and, somewhat shockingly, 15 Democrats.

While the 15 Democrats who essentially broke party lines and voted against the bill did have an impact on the optics of the vote total, they didn't entirely cause the bill's failure. Even if the 15 Democrats who voted against the bill had switched their votes, it would have been short five votes to pass because it needed 60 votes total.


https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/15-democrats-helped-tank-2013-assault-weapons-ban/story?id=50275295

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
15. It was doomed to be killed by the bastard GOP senators, who'd
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 09:12 PM
Nov 2020

already abandoned decency and principle for corruption. The Democrats couldn't save it.

I remember feeling sick. For once I didn't care about our senators' reelection problems. I wanted them all to vote for what was right, but we would probably have lost even more of them in the next election if they had.

I didn't remember that, incredibly, public support for the ban was only 52%. Given what's happened to the right, it's interesting and encouraging that maybe half of them have advanced on this issue, in spite of their leadership.

CBHagman

(16,968 posts)
16. Thanks for the reference!
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 11:01 PM
Nov 2020

I lost track of the number of times I read headlines that something failed in the Senate under similar circumstances.

Grins

(7,134 posts)
3. This was minority rule writ large.
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 05:10 PM
Nov 2020

90% of the country wanted something, anything, to be done about guns, but enough Senators from states that represent a minority of the population blocked it!

That is the egregious power of the electoral college and 2-Senators per state rule to thwart the demands of the majority. Ultimately, minority rule ends up in violence.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
9. It was a Democratic Senate that killed gun control post Sandy Hook
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 11:45 PM
Nov 2020

You can thank Harry Reid for that.

abqtommy

(14,118 posts)
4. I got a lot of good out of reading Churchill's books that were published after we won WWII.
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 08:13 PM
Nov 2020

Now I'm gonna have to pick up Obama's book. Thanks for this.

ManiacJoe

(10,136 posts)
5. Unfortunately, Congress was more interested in
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 08:36 PM
Nov 2020

passing a gun ban than actually working on any issues related to Sandy Hook.

 

needledriver

(836 posts)
7. Perfect is the enemy of the good.
Fri Nov 13, 2020, 10:25 PM
Nov 2020

“They were asking for more effective background checks and other provisions to keep firearms out of the hands of disturbed folks."

Yes. There was real bipartisan support for meaningful, effective, reasonable gun control measures BUT they also had to lard up the bill with an “assault weapons” ban. Background checks could have been the law of the land for years by now but certain senators were not willing to budge on banning scary looking black guns.

EX500rider

(10,532 posts)
14. While I think background checks on all weapon transfers is a good idea...
Sat Nov 14, 2020, 11:59 AM
Nov 2020

...is not clear how that would have helped here, he had none, killed his mother and took hers.

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