In the wake of the mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub, Democratic leaders, in both the House and Senate, are pushing for new legislation that would ban suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms.
The bill, authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, was put to a vote seven months ago but was defeated along party lines. Republicans argue that innocent people get put on terrorist watch lists and that it would be wrong to deprive those people of their rights due to a bureaucratic error. It is unknown whether this type of legislation would have prevented Omar Marteen from buying the weapons he used in his assault since he was not on any federal watchlist.
Minority Leader Harry Reid has promised that the Senate will act quickly to pass the bill. Reid said that Democrats “are going to, as soon as we can, force vote on this terror loophole. We’re going to do this as soon as possible. There is no excuse for allowing suspected terrorists to buy guns.” Despite Reid’s strong words it is unlikely that such a bill would pass a Republican-controlled Congress.
Senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, say the party dress is interested in pursuing other forms of gun control in the future but feels that their current focus should be on preventing suspected terrorists from getting their hands on weapons.
“In the wake of Orlando, we have to think about kind of country and what kind of Senate we’re going to be. Are we going to take the painfully obviously commonsense steps and make sure that terrorists can’t get guns or are we going to bow down to the (National Rifle Association) so that suspected terrorists can continue to get their hands on guns?”
While Republicans do argue that a total ban is too restrictive some do support other restrictions for persons on the watch list. A bill sponsored by John Cornyn, of Texas, which would implement a three-day waiting period for people on the watch list. The bill would also give the attorney general the power to seek a court order to issue a permanent ban.
