On Wednesday, the Senate considered and failed to pass several amendments to an increasingly endangered-looking gun bill. Most notably, a broadly supported amendment expanding background checks failed to overcome a GOP-led filibuster. Lots of people were angry about the failure, including President Obama.
One of those angry supporters of background checks, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), was able to voice her displeasure in The New York Times. She didn't hold back. "We know what we're going to hear: Vague platitudes like 'tough vote' and 'complicated issue,'" she says. But this was neither, Giffords argues. She says it was senators deciding to do the wrong thing, "based on political fear and on cold calculations about the money of special interests like the National Rifle Association." Some of those senators have met with the parents of children killed in the Newtown, Conn., shootings, and some "who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago.... Shame on them," Giffords admonished. Here's an excerpt:
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