By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Veteran Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) will not run for another term in 2016, but that could be very bad news for gun owners because, according to the Los Angeles Times, he has already endorsed anti-gun New York Sen. Charles Schumer to be his successor in the Democratic leadership position.
The 75-year-old Reid, still recovering from a nasty accident late last year that left his face bruised and his right eye injured, has been in office for three decades. His re-election was in doubt next year.
A reporter for Bloomberg News put it bluntly: “This is the opportunity Chuck Schumer has been waiting for…He’s known for his support of gun control, tax increases on high-income households and environmental protection.”
Schumer’s name is well-known to Second Amendment activists across the country as a perennial anti-gunner, perhaps even worse than California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In November 1993 he infamously announced after Congress passed the Brady Handgun Law handgun law that, “We’re here to tell the NRA their nightmare is true.” A week later, he told a press conference, “We’re going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy. We’re going to beat guns into submission!”
Schumer began his congressional career more than 30 years ago, elected to represent New York’s 16th Congressional district in 1980. He rose to the Senate in 1998, defeating then-Sen. Al D’Amato. He has made pronouncements about supporting the Second Amendment, but his actions speak louder than all those words. Schumer sponsored the Brady Law, and he also pushed the Clinton ban on so-called “assault weapons” and magazines.
The senior Senator from New York has come to epitomize the Democrats as “the party of gun control.” However, as a leader and recruiter of new Democrats into Congress, he was very effective in toning down the anti-gun rhetoric when it suited that purpose, critics have quietly suggested.
Another thing that rankles some people is his propensity to seek publicity. It has been said by various observers that “the most dangerous place in Washington is between Schumer and a television camera.”
However, one biography notes that Schumer makes it a point to visit at least once a year in each county in New York. He also reportedly pays attention to local issues, which goes well with his constituents.
