The U.S. Senate inched closer to scheduling votes on limited gun control measures after a Florida nightclub massacre, with Democrats challenging Republicans on Thursday to defy the national gun lobby and vote for new restrictions.
Advertisement
Since the Sunday morning shooting in Orlando, Democrats have revived their push for gun control legislation but face fierce opposition. Patrick Toomey, a Republican in a tough re-election race this year who has sought compromise in the past on gun control measures.
Early on Wednesday, Sen.
An effort to pass new gun-control legislation in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in Orlando is poised to end in a familiar impasse in the coming days – and potentially pit Republican lawmakers against their presumed presidential nominee, Donald Trump, who called for congressional action.
Meanwhile, attempts to get Republicans to support another measure appeared to fall short. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“I’ll be looking at it very, very seriously – the terror watch list and the no-fly list, I’m going to be talking to the NRA about that and starting a real dialogue”. It would allow federal law enforcement officials to delay a gun sale to a suspected terrorist for three days and then halt the sale, but only after proving probable cause before a judge.
Both measures were introduced in 2015 and failed following the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting. They highlighted ongoing gun violence across the USA and frequent mass shootings.
Democrats, long anxious about protecting conservative lawmakers and being viewed as soft on crime, have reversed course and now see an electoral advantage in moving to the left on guns.
But the four measures – two from Democrats, two from Republicans – have all been rejected in the past and are expected to fail again this time, highlighting the continuing divide between Democratic and Republican senators on guns. “That loophole must be closed”.
Chris Murphy said he would remain on the Senate floor “until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together”, as he also evoked the Newtown school shooting in his state in 2012. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. It, too, would require background checks for guns sold at gun shows and through online retailers, he explained.
“We’ll try again today to move forward with amendments from both sides and once there is an agreement to do so we’ll update everyone”, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said on the Senate floor.
But Republicans might not agree. Her proposal would ban gun sales from a suspected terrorist or someone who has been suspected of terrorism in the past five years. Mateen had been removed from the watch list before he purchased a Sig Sauer MCX assault rifle and a pistol about a week before he attacked.
For years, those losses made Democrats reluctant to go up against the NRA, particularly in rural districts. Trump, for instance, has wrongly suggested that Clinton, who backs a bill that would leave gun manufacturers open to lawsuits, would “abolish the second amendment” if she won the White House.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Tuesday that Sen.
“The amendment gives the Justice Department an important additional tool to prevent the sale of guns to suspected terrorists by licensed firearms dealers while ensuring protection of the department’s operational and investigative sensitivities”, Press Secretary Dana Iverson said in a statement. It would also underwrite additional surveillance capabilities, creating 36 new positions, including 18 for special agents.
The Senate is poised to vote as early as Monday on Feinstein’s Democratic proposal and a competing measure by Sen.
“These murderers are calling on their radical followers to exploit loopholes in America’s gun laws. Why?” In April 2007, Congress passed a law to strengthen the instant background check system after a gunman at Virginia Tech who killed 32 people was able to purchase his weapons because his mental health history was not in the instant background check database.
Advertisement
He said at the beginning of the week they didn’t know whether they would have any debate or any vote on these issues.
