Lost in the usual House Republican
drama-laced freakshow Thursday was a
stunning display of unity among Senate Democrats to renew their push for sane gun regulations.
Senate Democrats unveiled plans on Thursday for gun control reforms that include closing background check loopholes, expanding the background check database, and tightening regulations on illegal gun purchases.
The push is being led by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who on Wednesday sent a letter to their Senate colleagues outlining the proposals. During the press conference the lawmakers recounted deadly mass shootings across the nation over the past several years and stressed that personal conversations with the victims' relatives and friends helped underscore the need for "sensible gun reform legislation".
Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said he was moved to support the plan when his daughters asked him "what are you going to do to stop this." Warner said he was also moved by the pleas of Andy Parker, the father of Alison Parker, the news reporter who, along with a colleague, was shot and killed on air in August.
The proposals are not radical: strengthening the background check system and making it universal; shutting down straw purchases, where a someone buys a gun for another person who is barred from getting one; banning people convicted in domestic abuse from purchasing guns. It includes a version of an earlier proposal to expand background checks put forward by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) following the Sandy Hook massacre. That legislation was filibustered by Republicans.
Senators across the Democratic spectrum—from Joe Manchin (WV) to Bernie Sanders—spoke out on Thursday in support of sane laws to stop mass killings. On MSNBC Thursday, Manchin said that "it makes sense now." "If we're going to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, then we've got to stand up as law-abiding gun owners."