Salon | Republicans cagey on gun control vote

Republicans cagey on gun control vote
By Jillian Rayfield | Salon | February 13, 2013

The emotional high-note of President Obama’s State of the Union came when he called for Congress to vote on gun prevention measures. “The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence — they deserve a simple vote,” Obama said.

As The Hill points out, at the time, “Republican leaders stood and looked around but did not applaud.” So far, the public reaction from the Republicans has been comparable.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all made statements after Obama’s speech, but none of them mentioned a gun control vote. Only McConnell mentioned guns at all. “Gun control, cap-and-trade, tax increases, and spending programs are exactly what we’ve come to expect from a liberal President who seems perfectly content to preside over a divided country and a stagnant economy,” he said in his statement.

In an interview with CBS “This Morning,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., dodged a direct question about a potential vote. From the CBS transcript:

Norah O’Donnell: Do you agree there should at least be a vote on gun control? And let people vote however they want.

Ryan: Well and as Speaker Boehner has said let’s focus sequester, on the economy and let’s see what the senate can pass and send over to the house, then we would take that legislation up.

A few House Republican had more to say about it, like Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., who wrote in a statement: “The President’s speech tonight focused too much on his desire for gun control, increased government spending and decreased illegal immigration enforcement.”