After Democrats Waged a 15 Hour Filibuster to Force the GOP to Allow a Vote, They Have Just Defeated Two Gun Control Measures
Just eight days after the worst mass shooting in America’s history, Republicans in the U.S. Senate Monday afternoon defeated four gun control bills – including two sponsored by the GOP.
Republicans defeated a bill sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would allow the US Attorney General to deny the sale of a firearm to anyone they have aa “reasonable belief” that purchaser might engage in terrorism. That bill, known as the “no-fly, no-buy” amendment, extends farther than just the “no-fly” list.
They also defeated a bill by the Senate Majority Whip, John Cornyn (R-TX), that would require law enforcement officials be notified if someone currently on the terror watchlist attempts to buy a gun from a licensed dealer. That would not include sales among family members or at gun shows. “If the buyer has been investigated for terrorism within the past five years, the attorney general could block a sale for up to three days while a court reviews the sale,” USA Today reports.
Two additional bills also were killed. One, by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), would actually make it harder to add someone with a mental health issue to the background check database. The other, by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), would finally close the “gun show loophole,” mandating all gun sales, by licensed dealers or by unlicensed dealers at gun shows, to include background checks.
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The bills had not even been under consideration until Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut staged a nearly 15-hour filibuster promising he would not relinquish control of the Senate floor until Republicans gave some form of assurance they would allow a vote on gun control. Sen. Murphy, who has delivered dozens of speeches urging the Senate act on legislation to curb the nation’s gun violence crisis, was joined by a total of 40 other Senators, including two Republicans and on Independent.
Today’s defeat by the Republican controlled Senate should come as no surprise. The last time the Senate took up gun control legislation was literally one day after the massacre by terrorists in San Bernardino, California, in December. The GOP defeated that legislation. And before that, the Senate took up gun control legislation after the Sandy Hook shooting that left 20 first graders and six school officials dead. The GOP defeated that legislation as well.
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