Graham rejects House gun bills even before vote

As the House moves toward the most high-profile gun control votes in years, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham is warning he has no plans to take up the Democratic-drafted gun bills. Instead, the South Carolina Republican pledged to only hold a hearing on proposals to expand the use of “red flag” protection orders. These orders allow law enforcement agencies and family members to petition a court to temporarily restrict access to firearms to individuals who could pose an imminent threat to themselves or others. Graham has worked with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on such legislation in the past. But Graham will not move forward on bipartisan House-drafted bills to expand background checks to all gun sales or to close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows gun purchases before background checks are completed. The House is expected to pass both bills later this week, the most significant votes on gun control in Congress in decades. “We’re going to have a hearing about ‘red flag’ legislation,” Graham said an interview on Tuesday. “I just want to work on the red flag stuff and maybe the background check stuff. We’re kind of going our own way” compared to the House. Graham’s declaration — while unsurprising to the gun control movement — strengthens the argument from House GOP leaders and gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association that this week’s votes are more show than substance. With Senate Republicans set to ignore the House bills, and President Donald Trump aligned with the NRA and gun rights groups, there is almost no chance that the House bills become law. Gun control groups are aware the Senate is “an uphill battle” for their legislation, said one advocate, but they believe a good Senate map in 2020 — in which Republicans need to defend far more seats in swing states than Democrats — and a presidential election can change the political landscape on their issue. The groups also said that the national debate on guns is swinging in their direction after more than 20 years of uncontested control of Capitol Hill by the NRA. That powerful organization has seen a significant fundraising decline, a dent in its once impregnable political armor. And the gun control movement, with funding from key backers like billionaire businessman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has a national grassroots effect that can challenge the NRA and the gun rights movement. Younger voters, who’ve endured a string of bloody mass killings unprecedented in U.S. history, have different views on gun control than their parents, polls conducted by gun control groups show. Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine Source: https://ift.tt/2Su4wpI Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you. The Article Was Written/Published By: Burgess Everett ! #Headlines, #Congress, #Guns, #IdiotsAndAssholes, #People, #Political, #Politico, #politics, #Republicans, #Trending, #Newsfeed, #syndicated, news https://ift.tt/2EydNJz
source: https://droolindognews.blogspot.com/2019/02/graham-rejects-house-gun-bills-even.html