Senate Dems raise pressure on GOP ahead of gun votes

Senate Democrats are keeping the pressure on Republicans over gun control, following a 15-hour filibuster by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

Ahead of Monday’s votes on four competing gun control measures, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Murphy talked about the “hypocrisy” of Republicans who refuse to expand background checks.

Democrats hope to carry the momentum from Wednesday’s filibuster into Monday’s votes.

“Those 15 hours struck a cord and touched a nerve with the American people,” Blumenthal told reporters Friday during a press call organized by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 

The four gun control measures are likely to split senators along party lines.

A measure backed by Blumenthal and Murphy would expand background checks to all firearm sales, including those made at gun shows and online.

In 2013, the Democratic-controlled Senate failed to pass a similar background check bill introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) following the Sandy Hook shooting, in which more than 20 schoolchildren were shot and killed.

Even after the recent Orlando shooting, where 49 were killed at a gay nightclub and more than 50 injured and wounded, it remains unlikely Democrats will attract enough Republican support to advance the measure.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) is offering a Republican alternative to the background check bill that would fund the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System and encourage states to share mental health records.

Murphy says he is “not sure” whether Democrats can muster enough votes to pass the background check legislation, but he is more optimistic about establishing a terrorism gun ban.

Lawmakers will also consider two bills to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is pushing legislation that would allow the attorney general to delay gun sales to suspected to terrorists for three days while it requests a court order to completely block the sale.

But Blumenthal argued the measure would be “unenforceable.” Brady President Dan Gross said it is “a sham, a farce” that would do little to solve the problem of gun violence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is offering an alternative that would give the attorney general more power to block gun sales to suspected terrorists, but it is unlikely to attract much GOP support in light of Cornyn’s bill.

That doesn’t sit well with Senate Democrats who are hoping to build up more pressure against Republicans before Monday’s vote. 

“For us, this isn’t just about terrorism,” Gross said on the call. “It’s about keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. Obviously, it would be terrorists, but it would also be criminals and domestic abusers.”