Domestic | Government Dysfunction | Stop Violence

Bipartisan Background Check Bill Fails in Senate

Even though polls show that 90 percent of Americans favor background checks for gun buyers, a background check bill failed to clear the Senate today. This happened despite the bill being proposed by members of both parties, Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)

“We will use every means possible to make sure the constituents of these senators know that their elected representatives ignored them…” - Ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly*

Gun control: Senate rejects background checks deal

By John Bresnahan, Politico (04/17/2013) – The Senate has rejected a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks on gun sales, handing President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders a major defeat on one of the key pieces of the president’s second-term agenda.

The vote was 54-46, with only four Republicans crossing the aisle and voting with the Democrats in favor of the bipartisan proposal by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Sixty votes were needed.

Gun-control supporters in the Senate gallery and the hallway surrounding the chamber — some wearing ribbons and buttons with pictures of loved ones killed in shootings — wept when the results were announced. From their euphoria last week — when Toomey and 15 other Republicans voted with Democrats to allow the gun debate to begin, to Wednesday’s reality that the bill was defeated – proved too much for them. [MORE]

*Mark Kelly was a guest speaker at The Common Good on January 29th, 2013 [Event info]