姓名 : 邱科翰
班級 : 政一B
學號 : 07114248
[標題] US gun laws: House passes bill expanding background checks
[內文]
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill expanding background checks for all gun sales, including those at gun shows and on the internet.
The legislation is the most significant gun control measure to make progress in Congress in more than two decades.
The Democratic-controlled House passed it by 240 votes to 190. The bill is unlikely to be approved in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority.
President Donald Trump would also need to sign it for it to become law.
The White House said on Tuesday Mr Trump’s advisers would recommend that he veto the bill as it would apply "burdensome requirements" that were "incompatible with the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to keep arms".
Critics of the legislation, including many Republicans, say the changes would not have stopped many of the recent mass shootings, including the one at a high school in Parkland, Florida, last year in which 17 people were killed, which sparked student-led activism for stronger restrictions.
Campaigners say there is strong public support for expanded checks and increasing dissatisfaction with congressional inaction.
The Bipartisan Background Check Act seeks to close loopholes that allow people to buy guns without being subjected to a federal background check - under current law, private purchases are excluded from those checks.
"This bill delivers that change: ensuring that people who are a danger to themselves and others cannot purchase a gun and perpetuate violence in our communities," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
But Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee where the bill originated, said the legislation was ineffective because it "foolishly presumes criminals who flout existing laws will suddenly submit themselves to background checks."
Republicans added a provision requiring the FBI to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if an undocumented immigrant tries to buy a gun.
On Thursday, the House is expected to pass a separate bill that would extend the time the FBI takes to conduct a check before a gun sale, from three to 10 business days.
Its aim is to close the so-called Charleston loophole, a reference to the attack on an African-American church in South Carolina by a white supremacist in 2015. The shooter, who killed nine people, was able to buy a weapon after a three-day check failed to turn up a prior conviction.
…
[相關憲法條文]
憲法第三十七條 : 總統依法公布法律，發布命令，須經行政院院長之副署，或行政院院長及
有關部會首長之副署。
憲法第六十三條 : 立法院有議決法律案、預算案、戒嚴案、大赦案、宣戰案、媾和案、條約
案及國家其他重要事項之權。
憲法第七十二條 : 立法院法律案通過後，移送總統及行政院，總統應於收到後十日內公布之
，但總統得依照本憲法第五十七條之規定辦理 。
憲法增修條文第二條 (節選) : 總統發布行政院院長與依憲法經立法院同意任命人員之任免命令及解散立法院之命令，無須行政院院長之副署，不適用憲法第三十七條之規定。
憲法增修條文第三條 (節選) : 二、行政院對於立法院決議之法律案、預算案、條約案，如認為有窒礙難行時，得經總統之核可，於該決議案送達行政院十日內，移請立法院覆議。立法院對於行政院移請覆議案，應於送達十五日內作成決議。
如為休會期間，立法院應於七日內自行集會，並於開議十五日內作成決議。覆議案逾期未議決者，原決議失效。覆議時，如經全體立法委員二分之一以上決議維持原案，行政院院長應即接受該決議。
[相關法條]
The Constitution of the United States
Article I,
Section 1 :
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 7 :
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
…
心得評論：
I would be focusing on executive-legislative powers, especially the power to veto, this week. As the US Congress passed a law that would go against core Republican agendas, all eyes are on President Trump. While he has expressed the will to strike a bipartisan accord, it is likely he would veto the bill. But what effect would that bring ?
The president has ten days (excluding Sundays) to sign a bill passed by Congress. If the president refuse to approve a bill, he/she returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. This veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House, instead of the simple majority regular bills would require. If the president does nothing after ten days AND the Congress is not in session during this 10-day period, the bill does not become law also. Given the fact that the Senate is now controlled by Republicans, this gun control bill would probably not survive a veto.
What would happen in Taiwan though ? In Taiwan, the head of executive is the premier. If the premier (or the executive branch in general) does not agree on a bill, he/she may return the bill to the parliament, but only after receiving the president’s approval. Unlike vetos in the US, vetos here in Taiwan can be overridden by a simple majority. This makes the veto more of a symbolic act, rather than means of check and balance. Personally ? I prefer the American system. I think the system of vetoing is crucial in maintaining political balance within presidential systems. It restricts legislative power (thus preventing parliament superiority) and gives the executive some power to fight back an opposition-controlled house or to force a reconsideration of highly controversial bills. Both are important factors if a presidential system were to flourish.
