The legislation would allow the attorney general to block the sale of a gun if an individual is on the “no-fly” list or the so-called “selectee” list, which requires additional screening at an airport.
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Although many remain skeptical, her measure – which could come up for a vote as early as Thursday – is gaining traction among some Republicans. It would also alert the government if someone on Federal Bureau of Investigation terrorist watch lists within the last five years buys a gun.
“We’ve got to make progress and in order to make progress, we’ve got to do it in a bipartisan fashion”, he said.
“The likelihood of someone being on this list and buying a gun to use it in a terrorist act to me is far greater than the likelihood of an innocent person being on this list. Once the gun is bought, you don’t fix that”, he said.
“We don’t know yet what that count’s going to be”, Heitkamp said. It doesn’t matter. There’s never a good time. “Republican leaders subjected each of the four amendments to 60-vote threshold and rallied their members around proposals backed by the NRA”.
“If you’re denied the purchase of a weapon, you can go to an appeals court, directly to an appeals court, and ask the government to show proof”, he explained.
Nearly as soon as Collins and other Senate moderates – including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who is up for re-election in the fall, all supporting the legislation.
“Now is the time for Democrats to join us”, McConnell urged Tuesday.
After Monday’s votes, the Senate turned away from gun control, at least temporarily, to debate a different tactic for battling domestic attacks that could be inspired by Islamic State and other foreign militant groups.
“To my friends at the NRA … every constitutional right has boundaries”, Graham sad. The vast majority are foreigners, but the list is said to include around 2,700 Americans, according to Collins.
Republican leaders seemed reluctant. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced McConnell had given the green light for the amendment to get a floor vote. Almost all the people on all three lists are foreigners.
The White House also weighed in Tuesday, saying that though they are willing to consider the bipartisan proposal, it does not make up for the Senate’s failure to pass Monday’s amendments.
Earnest said the administration would support the bill if it “would help our law enforcement officials” and “enhance national security”, but he expressed disappointment that the measure would only “prevent some people” suspected of terrorist ties from purchasing firearms.
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And Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, in line to be the top Senate Democrat next year, praised Collins for working seriously on the proposal, but instantly placed the onus back on Republicans Tuesday. The White House has said previously that tweets from his account are from Obama himself.
