Some Republican senators tried on Friday to craft a compromise bill to impose limited gun restrictions in the face of pressure from Democrats and public rage over the Orlando mass shooting, the deadliest in modern US history.
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Members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation led the fight in Washington, D.C., this week to get federal lawmakers to take action on gun control measures following last Sunday’s mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Murphy ended the filibuster after some Republicans said they’d vote on the amendments. Those measures are likely to be among those voted on again by the Senate. The second would expand background checks to include sales on the internet and at gun shows.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Thursday said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated early in the morning that he would allow votes on “two important gun safety measures” as part of a pending bill to fund certain government agencies.
Republican Susan Collins of ME, leading the new effort, is considering a more tailored approach. One proposal calls for government to prevent terrorist suspects from purchasing firearms. Murphy could have taken a quick break, but he never left the floor and did not go to the bathroom throughout the 15 hours, said spokeswoman Laura Maloney.
There’s no immediate hope of anything more sweeping, such as a revival of the assault weapons ban that expired a dozen years ago.
A new poll from Reuters shows that 71% of Americans are in favor of moderate regulations and gun restrictions. That was up from 60 percent in late 2013 and late 2014.
Both the gunman in the Orlando attack and the married couple who carried out a mass shooting that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last December were thought to have been inspired by militant Islamist groups overseas.
As a result, there will be four votes on gun bills Monday afternoon, beginning at 5:30 ET, as amendments to the current spending bill they are considering. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other Republicans argue that Feinstein’s bill would deny due process to people who may be on the terror list erroneously.
“When you attack one American you attack us all”. People are placed on such lists based on the threat level they are believed to pose. “If you have a quick idea in the heat of the moment that says let’s take away a person’s rights without due process, we’re going to defend the Constitution”, Ryan said.
At least one Senate Democrat, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, has been involved in the talks, her spokeswoman said.
Murphy staged a near-15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor over the past two days to secure a vote on those measures and credited his blockade with pressuring Republican leaders to commit to holding the votes.
Murphy said it was too early to say whether any Democrats would get on board with her approach.
Toomey makes a valid point that the watch list is rife with errors. “I’ve had enough of the ongoing slaughter of innocents, and I’ve had enough of inaction in this body”, Democrat Chris Murphy said starting the speech-athon, called a “filibuster”.
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The debate – with the potential to turn vicious in a contentious presidential election year – comes with Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump signaling he could back moves to prevent people on terror watch lists or no-fly lists from buying guns.
