Marco Rubio Vows To Filibuster Gun Control Bill

Marco Rubio has joined the growing list of Republicans vowing to filibuster any gun control bill that Majority Leader Harry Reid brings to the Senate floor. His announcement came just hours after President Obama’s emotional speech Thursday urging Congress to pass sensible gun control measures in the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

“We should look for ways to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill prone to misusing them, but I oppose legislation that will be used as a vehicle to impose new Second Amendment restrictions on responsible, law-abiding gun owners,” Rubio announced.

The letter Rubio signed is addressed directly to Reid and was originally written by Republican Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz Friday. The brief letter reads:

“We, the undersigned, intend to oppose any legislation that would infringe on the American people’s constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance.

“The Second Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens’ right to self-defense. It speaks to history’s lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times, and history’s warning about the oppression of a government that tries.

“We will oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions.”

This is what Rubio’s against. As for what he is for, he sticks to the standard Republican line.

“We should work to reduce tragic acts of violence by addressing violence at its source, including untreated mental illness, the lack of adequate information-sharing on mental health issues, and the breakdown of the family,” Rubio said in his announcement. Rubio was not the only Republican to append his name to the letter today:

Push RT button. I just received word @marcorubio & Senator Inhofe have signed Paul, Cruz, Lee Letter to protect #2ndAmendment. @inhofepress

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 28, 2013

Reid announced last week that he was dropping the assault weapons ban from any gun control legislation brought to the Senate floor. Regardless, Republican members of Congress have largely stood by the NRA’s assertion that any degree of gun control would infringe on people’s constitutional right to bear arms. Even without the ban, Democrats still have an uphill battle on their hands if they want to pass any type of gun control legislation.

Marco Rubio gave the rebuttal to Obama’s State of the Union speech this year and was a prominent speaker at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. Rubio is one of the party’s rising stars and threatening to filibuster gun control places him on strong footing within the party’s ranks.

[Featured image by Gage Skidmore [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons]