Warning that Congress has become “complicit” in gun violence with its inaction, Senate Democrats forced votes Thursday on measures to curb gun sales, which failed amid mostly Republican opposition.
One proposal from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would have added suspected terrorists to the list of individuals blocked from buying firearms. Another that would have closed the so-called gun show loophole that allows buyers to escape background checks won broader GOP support, but not enough to pass.
“How can we live with ourselves, for failing to do the things we know will reduce gun violence?” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“We are complicit through our inaction,” he said. “It is despicable. For far too long we have done nothing, even as gun violence shakes our nation to its core.”
Passage was a long-shot in the face of opposition from the gun lobby, including the National Rifle Assn., which continues to hold sway over lawmakers.
The last major effort in Congress, after the 2012 mass shooting of elementary school children in Newtown, Conn., failed to change gun laws, as did the 2011 shooting of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as she met with constituents outside a Tuscon grocery store.
Republicans offered alternatives Thursday that Democrats rejected as weak, and some senators objected to tampering with the broader GOP package to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
But mostly GOP leaders, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), have said the focus should be on mental health reforms.
Democratic Sen. Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut said that while prayers and good wishes like those he received in the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting are appreciated, Thursday’s votes were intended to show Americans there are “sane people” in Washington who know that gun laws must change.
“Members of Congress don’t get paid to send out sympathy tweets. Members of Congress get paid to change policy,” Murphy said. “In this Congress, we’re not even trying, we’re not even making an attempt, and that’s offensive.”