Politicians\non the left are all in for gun control \u2013 but their aim gets shaky when it comes\nto illegal aliens arming up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives recently passed a gun control bill, H.R. 8<\/a>, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which would tighten background checks of individuals who purchase weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep.\nW. Gregory Steube, R-Fla., introduced a commonsense amendment to integrate the\ndatabase of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and\nthe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of immigration violators. When a\nmatch indicating that an alien illegally in the country is attempting to buy a\nfirearm, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be notified so\nthe attempted purchaser could be apprehended and prosecuted and\/or removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steube\u2019s amendment was shot down by a majority of Democrats. Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., led the charge, warning that it would “expand” ICE powers. Similarly overheated, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blasted Republicans as \u201cxenophobic\u201d<\/a> for insisting on the provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately,\ncooler heads prevailed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using an obscure rule called a \u201cmotion recommit,\u201d which permits last-minute introduction of floor amendments by the minority party, Republicans got a re-vote. Twenty-two Democrats, representing districts carried by Donald Trump in 2016 and now worried about blowback from constituents,\u00a0switched sides and the amendment was resurrected on a 220-209 vote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nshouldn\u2019t have been that close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s already against the law for illegal aliens to purchase or possess firearms (see 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)<\/a>),\u201d notes Dan Cadman at the Center for Immigration Studies. \u201cAll the amendment does is require the marriage of existing electronic systems to protect the public and prevent the sale of guns to aliens who, in addition to being illegally in the United States, might also be gang members or drug or weapons traffickers who have no prior arrest records.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n