Bitter Pills...

Senate rejects all gun bills 

Democrats and Republicans took turns defeating dueling proposals on background checks and efforts to prevent terrorists from buying firearms. 

By Seung Min Kim

The Senate voted down four separate gun measures Monday in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history — showing the partisan paralysis over gun control has barely moved on Capitol Hill despite the stream of continued gun violence across the country.

Lawmakers took up two separate issues involving gun regulations: how to improve the nation’s background check system for those who want to purchase firearms, and how to ensure those with terrorist ties do not obtain a gun. But those questions remained unresolved by lawmakers as of Monday night.

Instead, Democrats made it clear they want to make it as painful for Republicans to oppose their gun amendments, whether through a flood of advocacy calls to their Senate offices or at the ballot box in November.

“Some of this is going to turn into an electoral operation,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who led the Senate Democrats’ nearly 15-hour gun filibuster last week, said an interview Monday. “I’m going to be turning my attention to the November election. I’m going to take some of my energy and help make sure that people who cast the wrong vote don’t come” back to the Senate.

Republicans and Democrats put forward dueling background check proposals: Democrats are reviving the core of a bipartisan plan from 2013 that would establish a universal background checks system, including at gun shows and for Internet sales. But their current measure is broader than the version from three years ago, drafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). That effectively ensured Toomey, whom Democrats want to oust from his Senate seat this fall, would vote against it, and the measure failed on a 44-56 vote. All four proposals needed 60 votes to advance.

The Democratic proposal drew notable opposition from their own party, including Manchin, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Jon Tester of Montana, and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. But Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) backed it; he voted with Democrats on all four measures.

"There’s 46 of us [in the Senate Democratic Caucus], more than 90 percent vote with us every time, so I think you should not focus on one or two that voted against what we feel is good legislation," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said when asked on the intraparty opposition. "Democrats are doing our job."

Meanwhile, the GOP plan, written primarily by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), pushes more resources to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System but doesn’t expand the universe of mandated background checks. His measure would also revise legal definitions on who is banned from owning a gun due to mental-health concerns. It also was blocked in the Senate, 53-47, rejected by nearly all Democrats but also Kirk and fellow Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) supported the measure.

The two parties also laid out opposing plans on preventing suspected terrorists from purchasing guns — and both faced quick doom in the Republican-led Senate.

The Democratic plan, authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, would empower the Justice Department to block sales of guns to people who are suspected of having terrorist ties. But that is a nonstarter for most Republicans, who say Feinstein’s proposal would hamper the Second Amendment rights of people who may be inadvertently included on federal terror watch lists. Her legislation was voted down on a 47-53 vote, with Heitkamp voting alongside Republicans, and Kirk and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) joining Democrats to advance it.

The Republican proposal, which was written by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, would halt a sale only if a judge found probable cause that the person trying to buy the gun is involved in terrorist activities. Democrats say that burden of proof is too high. His legislation was blocked, too, with a 53-47 vote, with Republicans Kirk, Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine voting against it. Donnelly and Manchin voted with the GOP.

The near-party line votes occurred as Senate moderates made some movement toward a compromise plan to bar people suspected of terrorism from buying weapons — even though some Republican leaders were already skeptical of the effort, led by Collins.

Collins plans to unveil her legislation at a news conference Tuesday, her spokeswoman said. Collins said last week that her plan would merge the no-fly list and Secondary Security Screening Selection list, with people on those lists being barred from purchasing a firearm.

However, they would still be allowed to appeal the blocked purchase. During Monday's long vote series, Collins was seen moving from one senator to another, handing out sheets of paper and talking frequently with colleagues with whom she is drafting the compromise, including Flake and Ayotte.

Because of the push to try to forge a middle ground, Ayotte said in a floor speech that she would be voting to advance both terror proposal from the two parties. That would be a reversal from December, when she voted against Feinstein’s plan.

"We're gonna put together a good-faith proposal," Ayotte said of her push with Collins. "How about we focus on a result instead of playing politics on this?”

But Ayotte's attempt to straddle both sides was immediately slammed by top Senate Democrats, with Reid quipping: "She’s doing everything but yoga on the Senate floor to justify what she’s doing."

And Senate Republican leaders were already casting doubt on Collins’ proposal. Cornyn said Monday that the problematic feature in the Maine senator’s plan is that the chance to appeal the government’s decision to ban a weapons purchase comes after the sale is already denied.

“I think that’s kind of a fundamental line for a lot of Republicans, and I would hope for a lot of Americans,” Cornyn said. “Any time you’re denying an American citizen their constitutional rights, it ought to be with evidence, the burden ought to be on the government, and it ought to come from a court.”

Still, that doesn’t mean Collins’ proposal is likely to hit an immediate roadblock. Cornyn said Monday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has offered Collins and Toomey — who has his own proposal to bar suspected terrorists from buying guns — a chance to have votes on their legislation. Those potential roll calls, like Monday’s votes, would come within a broader spending bill that funds the Justice Department and other agencies.

The gun votes are likely to be used as campaign fodder in competitive Senate races this fall, as Democrats use them to pressure vulnerable GOP senators running for reelection. On a conference call Monday, Democrat Katie McGinty, who is running against Toomey in Pennsylvania, likened Toomey’s position on gun policy to that of conservative stalwart Ted Cruz.

“Sen. Toomey has put himself out there as a leader on gun safety,” McGinty said. “But frankly he’s been MIA on this issue” of potential terrorists having access to guns.

Toomey campaign spokesman Ted Kwong dismissed the comments as “Another day, another stale attack from Shady Katie” and noted that Toomey’s work on gun-control policy has earned bipartisan plaudits, including from Vice President Joe Biden as recently as last week.

But Murphy, one of the most persistent gun control advocates in Congress since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said he felt that the mood of some GOP lawmakers is changing.

“Clearly, there are a lot of Republicans who are trying to get better on this issue, and I think in a sincere way. I don’t mean that in a snarky way,” Murphy said Monday. “I think the electorate is changing.”