Is Today The End Of Our Freedom?

• The Senate is voting on four bills about gun control today.
• The voting comes only one week after the Orlando massacre.
• None are expected to be passed, the Democrats will veto the Republican bills and the Republicans will Block the Democrats bills.
• Two bills from the Democratic party and two bills from the Republican party.

Guns will always be a controversial issue. “Guns kill people! No, people kill people.” We've all heard the debates. Yet, today the Senate is voting on bills that may take away any need to fight.

It has been a week since the Orlando massacre and already bills are in motion to ban and control gun restrictions. Clearly the Senate doesn't waste time in moving things along. Four separate bills are being voted on today that address things such as changing the background check system and the restriction of selling guns to the individuals that are on terrorist watch lists.

To me, that last one seems to be a little self-explanatory. Why in the world would you give a gun to someone who is enough of a concern that they find themselves on the terrorist watch list? There's a difference between needing restrictions and common sense.

Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., went on a fifteen-hour rant over the massacre in Orlando that caused these bills to be placed in the voting chair.  Murphy was seeking action for the 49 people who were murdered in the Orlando shooting. Clearly some people were listening.

Murphy told ABC's The Week “It wasn't just that 40 senators came to the floor and supported my effort to get these votes but there were millions of people all across the country who rose up and who joined our effort.”

Yet, now the problem is this. Four bills are being voted on, two are from the Democratic party and two are from the Republican party. If we know anything about politics, then we know that more than likely the Democrats won't pass the Republican bills because they don't restrict the sale of guns enough, and the Republicans won't pass the Democrats bills because they take away to many rights from the public. Lawmakers should have come together and created a bill that came together with compromises to both parties wants. Yet, of course, the word compromise and politics have never gone hand in hand.

The Democrats have one bill from Murphy, to expand background checks for gun owners, and one from Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to refuse people on a terrorist watch list from buying guns. With no surprise at all, The Justice Department has publicly endorsed Feinstein's bill.

The two countering bills are from Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley. One, from Cornyn, is to delay the process of getting a gun for those on the terrorist watch list for 72 hours. In which time, the prosecutors must go to court and prove probable cause for the blocking of gun sales permanently, for each individual. The National Rifle Associations has given its support to Senator Cornyn's bill.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch also supports the bill from Cornyn. “The American people deserve for us to take the greatest amount of time,” was her comment to Fox News Sunday.

The bill from Grassley is to increase funding to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. On top of the funding, the bill also states it will make sure that the correct records are uploaded into the system in a timely manner. It also wants to clarify language around mental health disorders that could potentially disqualify someone from buying a gun.

The debate is that the shooter of the Orlando massacre had been on a terrorist watch list back in 2013, but was taken off the list 10 months later when the investigation was over. The bills by Feinstein and Cornyn would flag any individual who has been on the terrorist watch list in the past five years. Grassley's bill would require that law enforcement is notified if someone who had been on the watch list tried to buy a gun.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, is also working on a bill. It would prevent people on the no-fly list from buying guns. Her bill, however, did not get the green light from GOP leaders and it is unsure whether or not it will be voted on.

Today could be a big day in our history.

What happened in Orlando was terrible. Yet, can you make a decision about our Constitution so quickly? I'm not sure, but whatever happens, the decision will be made today.