Still, Monday’s votes forced lawmakers to take a stand on the controversial gun policy reform issue in a very public way. They were introduced in response to the June 12 shootings in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people and injured dozens more. Another amendment, proposed by Senator Chuck Grassley, suggested giving more funding to the National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS). Chris Murphy, D-Conn., that would have expanded background check requirements to include private gun sales and sales over the internet.
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“This country is under attack…it’s not a plane or an explosive device, it’s an assault weapon”, said Murphy, who led a 15-hour filibuster last week to draw attention to the effort to restrict guns.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s amendment went down in a 53-47 vote and would have required the attorney general to investigate any gun purchase made by someone on the terrorist watch list.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the two GOP-backed measures sponsored by Sens. A bill proposed by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein which would allow the Justice Department to prevent individuals with suspected ties to terrorists and terrorism from purchasing firearms was blocked 47-53.
With the chamber’s visitors galleries unusually crowded for a Monday evening, – including people wearing orange T-shirts saying #ENOUGH gun violence – each measure fell short.
His amendment was supported by just 44 Senators and opposed by 56.
Dueling amendments on improving background checks for gun sales echoed debates of years’ past when, in the year following the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, a bipartisan bill on background checks failed. Republicans argue many people would be stripped of their gun rights without due process under the Feinstein proposal.
Republicans and their allies in the NRA gun lobby said the Democratic bills were too restrictive and trampled on the constitutional right to bear arms.
He also noted the proposal would have changed federal law so that federal, state and local law enforcement officers would be notified immediately if a suspected terrorist attempted to buy or transfer a gun. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) voted for Feinstein’s bill, but against Murphy’s.
“I believe we all share the same goal – that terrorists should not be able to obtain arms”, said Wisconsin Republican Sen.
Because of Mateen’s self-professed loyalty to extremist groups and his 10-month inclusion on a federal terrorism watch list, proposals aimed at blocking terrorists from getting guns were in the spotlight. “After each tragedy, we try, we Democrats try to pass sensible gun safety measures”, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said.
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So what’s next? Republican Senator Susan Collins of ME is reportedly working on a bi-partisan proposal, and the Senate has not ruled out another vote later on this week. It also revamped language that prohibits some people with mental health problems from buying guns.
