Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith Thursday objected to a unanimous consent motion to adopt a House background check bill passed in February. The bill passed the US House 240-190, largely on party lines. As a result of the parliamentary action, the bill remains alive and will now go through the regular committee process to be considered by the entire US Senate.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy led the charge to fast track the bill.
"The American public are not going to accept silence from this body."
Just before news broke of CA school shooting, Sen. Chris Murphy called on GOP colleagues to take action on a background check bill. It was blocked by Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. https://t.co/4uGVXrAJ3t pic.twitter.com/qPhW6h2uGh
— ABC News (@ABC) November 14, 2019
Almost the same moment gunfire erupted in Santa Clarita (about 11 ET), Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith objected to moving a background check bill added to the Senate calendar on March 4. Said it shouldn't be "fast tracked" and it might stop her from lending a rifle to a grandson. pic.twitter.com/jmxqL564OK
— Michael McAuliff (@mmcauliff) November 14, 2019
At about the same time Hyde-Smith was reading her prepared response, news of a school shooting in California became public causing many in the media to conflate the two events.
Her presumptive Democrat opponent in 2020, Mike Espy, pounced on the Hyde-Smith actions.
Every moment we fail to act is a failure of leadership that puts our children's lives in danger. Today's events prove that.
— Mike Espy (@MikeEspyMS) November 14, 2019
This past summer, Hyde-Smith received scrutiny from Democrats and the media after she objected to similar fast tracking provisions from three Senate Democrat bills on election security. Notwithstanding her objection to fast-track, all three bills are still alive and in the committee process.
