WASHINGTON -- Legislation targeting Washington, D.C.’s strict gun laws may get some movement in the Senate soon.
Days after shooters in San Bernardino killed 14 and injured 21, Democrats forced votes on measures aimed at restricting suspected terrorists' access to guns and explosives, and expanding background checks. With mass shootings still in the spotlight, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) began the process Thursday to bring a bill to the chamber floor that would repeal a suite of gun restrictions in the nation’s capital.
McConnell sped up consideration of the bill using Rule 14 of Senate procedure, which allows the legislation to skip the committee process, and put it on the Senate calendar, meaning the majority leader can bring it up at any time.
The bill, authored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), would remove criminal penalties for unregistered firearms, repeal a gun-offender registry, revoke the federal ban on interstate handgun transfers, restore the right of self-defense in the home, repeal a ban on semiautomatic guns, and require D.C. to issue and honor concealed carry firearms permits for residents and non-residents -- among a litany of other provisions aimed at restoring Second Amendment rights in D.C.
The Supreme Court in 2008 struck down the District of Columbia's ban on possession of handguns in the home, but the district still has some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S. on the books. Additionally, D.C. does not ban semiautomatics as a category as mentioned in Paul's bill; it bans assaults weapons.
Still, the senator's bill already received a vote. During a debate on legislation to repeal Obamacare, it came up as an amendment, failing 54-45. Republican leadership hasn’t said it will bring the bill up for a vote this week, but by speeding up the process through Rule 14, it gives McConnell the power to call a vote whenever he wants.
In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting -- declared an act of terrorism by the president just days later -- lawmakers on Capitol Hill have engaged in charged rhetoric over the event, which rattled the nation. Democrats have questioned Republicans' unwillingness to support even smaller extensions of background checks for firearms.
On the House side, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) filed a discharge petition to try to force a vote on whether to consider legislation that prohibits the sale of firearms to individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watch list. First drafted in 2007, the bill was supported by President George W. Bush’s Justice Department. To get an up-or-down vote to bring the bill to the chamber floor, Democrats will need to get a majority of members in the House to sign the petition.
Thompson argued on the floor on Monday that there is bipartisan support for the bill, which Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) wrote.
“Last week, House Republicans voted three times to protect the ability of suspected terrorists to continue buying guns,” Thompson said. “[This] bill makes sure those on the FBI’s Terrorists Watchlist can’t walk into a gun store, pass a background check, and buy a gun.”
