Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday that after the
congressional recess, he will bring to the Senate floor a gun-violence
bill that will include measures to expand background checks for gun
purchases, strengthen gun trafficking laws and improve school safety. Reid unveils outline of gun bill:
Reid acknowledged that the background-check language he is including in the bill could change in the final product.
The current background-check language, authored by Sen. Charles
Schumer, is serving as a place holder while the New York Democrat –
along with Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill. – continue
to negotiate a compromise with Republicans.
Republican Sen. Tom
Coburn of Oklahoma had initially been part of the negotiations, but he
dropped out after the group could not come to an agreement over a
requirement for private gun sellers to keep a record of their sales – a
provision opposed by the National Rifle Association.
Reid said in a statement he is "hopeful" that negotiations will be successful over the two-week break.
"If
a compromise is reached, I am open to including it in the base bill,"
Reid said. "But I want to be clear: in order to be effective, any bill
that passes the Senate must include background checks."
The other two provisions in the gun-violence bill – increasing the
penalty for trafficking firearms and expanding grants for school safety
– are largely non-controversial and were approved by the Senate
Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.
Reid added that once
debate on the bill begins, he will "ensure" that votes occur on a ban
on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and mental health
provisions.
"In his State of the Union address, President Obama
called for all of these provisions to receive votes, and I will ensure
that they do," he said.
Here's a more literal look at how popular background checks for gun purchases are with Americans (h/t Maddow blog):
Here are those polls directly:
Gallup: Americans Back Obama's Proposals to Address Gun Violence
CBS News: Poll: On deficit, immigration, guns, public in sync with Obama