5 reasons gun control is headed for defeat in Congress

Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly meet with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on April 16.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), the two sponsors of the bipartisan gun background check legislation coming to a vote this afternoon, admit they don't have the votes for passage.

But why would a proposal with near 90 percent support of the American public fail?

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won â€” Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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