Baby Steps
In small ways, the pendulum of governance may be swinging back toward sanity.
Somewhat to everyone’s surprise, the Federal Government did not shut down last weekend, because on March 21, 2018 the House and Senate agreed on a spending bill that will keep the government running until September. Some last-minute flattery was required to avoid a presidential veto, because there was no money in it for the Wall on the Mexican border.
It appears to have been a bipartisan compromise, with many Democratic projects getting funding, but with military spending increased, and all of it done with deficit spending, because of last year’s massive corporate tax cut. But hidden among all the partisan symbolism were two things that the people actually need and want.
Background Checks without Concealed Carry Reciprocity
With public opinion solidly behind the children of Parkland, Florida, it would have been heartless to pass an ill-considered gift to the NRA like the proposed concealed-carry reciprocity plan that, until last week, the House has insisted much accompany any strengthening of the national background checks reporting system on firearm sales.
Concealed Carry Reciprocity means that anyone authorized by their home state to carry a concealed weapon is allowed to do so in any state — even if that state has much stricter concealed carry rules. It would have made it next to impossible for states to enforce concealed carry prohibitions. But the spending bill contains a modest improvement in background checks, with no CCR in the bargain. Baby steps, to be sure, but steps in the right direction.
Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Coloradans
It’s not a new thing for undocumented Colorado residents to be able to obtain a driver’s license. That provision passed in 2013. But the process has been odious, requiring in-person scheduled appointments only available in a few places.
Last week, however, the Republican-controlled Colorado Senate passed SB18–108, which expands the number of people eligible under the program to include DACA and Temporary Protected Status residents, who have social security numbers rather than individual tax IDs — the only document recognized by the 2013 law. Even better, undocumented residents can now renew their licenses on-line like anyone else.
The Democratic House has not yet considered the bill, but no threat to its passage in the House is anticipated. The bipartisan support SB18–108 received in the Senate seems to be a recognition that Colorado’s undocumented residents are an essential component of our economy and our society. It’s about time.
Next Steps
The great disappointments in the Federal Spending Bill were that it contained neither any normalization for the DACA registrants, not any measures to stabilize insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. While the Republican Congress failed to find a way in 2017 to keep its promise to repeal the ACA, it has nibbled away at subsidies and regulations that keep the Act stable. With the federal government now funded through September, only two months ahead of this year’s general election, there is now little hope for change on either score. These are problems, it seems, that the American people must fix — with our votes.
