Gun control is the perfect weapon against the filibuster

If Republicans want to block extremely popular measures like background checks, at least make them do it the hard way

The Capitol building.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

The coronavirus pandemic is not yet over (and many states are relaxing their controls far too quickly), but with vaccinations proceeding quickly in every state, the end is in sight. Normal life is beginning to return, for good and ill — most notably in the return of regular gun murder sprees. Two deadly mass shootings have made headlines in just the last week, one at several massage parlors in Atlanta, and one in a Boulder supermarket. I didn't even realize until starting to write this article that there have been five other mass shootings this week, which presumably got less attention because "only" two people were actually killed.

Once again we are seeing the typical calls for "thoughts and prayers" from Republicans, and demands for Democrats to do something running into the logjam of the Senate filibuster, as has happened dozens of times before. But this time just might be different. A gun control bill would be a perfect vehicle to reform the filibuster so it is no longer an insurmountable obstacle to normal legislation.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.