Mark Kelly Warns that GOP Efforts to Block Gun Control Legislation Will Hurt Reelection Efforts; GOP's Flake Disagrees
photo credit: R0Ng
But the issue has turned into the new sticking point in Congress with a top Republican saying Sunday the plan is “going nowhere” and Democrats and other gun-control advocates pressing the issue.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham repeated the argument among gun-rights advocates that the federal government should not add new checks when existing ones are not enforced.
“The current system is broken,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Why in the world would you expand that system if you’re not enforcing the law that exists today. … So I think that legislation is going nowhere.”
Leading gun-control advocate Mark Kelly warned Republican senators that trying to block a vote on new firearms legislation that includes universal background checks could hurt their re-election efforts. Read more from this story HERE.
Sen. Jeff Flake: Universal background checks ‘a bridge too far’
By David Sherfinski. Sen. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, said Sunday that universal background checks on all gun sales are “a bridge too far for most of us” as Democrats try to cobble together a package that can win 60 votes in the Senate.
“We do need to strengthen the background check system, but universal background checks, I think, is a bridge too far for most of us,” Mr. Flake said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The paperwork requirements alone would be significant.”
Mr. Flake — along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Democratic Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark L. Pryor of Arkansas — has introduced legislation intended to clarify issues surrounding mental illness and which people are legally barred from buying or owning a firearm.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, has introduced a bill that would require near-universal background checks for all gun sales, but said he’s still hunting for a measure that can get 60 votes in the Senate. His bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a straight party-line vote after bipartisan talks on compromise legislation broke down over the issue of record-keeping on gun sales. Read more from this story HERE.
