It's Hard Not To Be Cynical About This Toomey/Manchin Deal

First, on Toomey's motivation to take part in this charade. Yesterday there were reports that Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns group was amping up the pressure on Toomey in Pennsylvania.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns is on the air in Pennsylvania Tuesday with a TV spot targeting Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who is in talks to sign on to a proposal that would require background checks for all commercial gun purchases.

Then, today:

Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns is pulling its ads in Pennsylvania, citing Toomey's work on compromise bill.

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlakeWP) April 10, 2013

Now, about the actual bill. Erick Erickson picked up on a possible nasty little detail in the bill.

The proposal will allow a doctor to add a patient to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) without ever telling the patient he or she has been added.

There would be no due process requirement. Not all doctors will be able to do it with the same ease, but many will. Knowing a doctor could add him to a federal database as mentally ill without his knowledge could potentially dissuade a patient from going to the doctor in the first place to get help.

Worse, if the doctor does so and makes a mistake, the patient would have to actively work through the system to get himself removed — guilty before being proven innocent. In some states, should a doctor flag you as having mental illness without your knowledge, you may very well see the state come collect your previously purchased guns.

One of Pres Obama's 23 Executive Actions today clarifies that ObamaCare allows doctors to ask their patients about guns in their homes.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 16, 2013

posted by JohnE. at 04:48 PM

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