Senate lawmakers blocked four gun control amendments in procedural votes Monday evening, forcing Senate leaders back to the drawing board just days after a dramatic filibuster and a political agreement to allow the votes after the Orlando massacre.
Monday’s votes showed that while senators are eager to do something about guns, the two parties sharply disagree over exactly what to do, which appears to leave them little room to find a compromise.
The last vote of the night was on a measure authored by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., that would have given federal authorities the power to block gun purchases by anyone under FBI scrutiny for terrorism within the past five years. However, it was soundly defeated 47-53, and even a slight majority vote wouldn’t have helped, as a 60-vote supermajority was needed to advance it.
Just before that, Democrats blocked language from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that would have implemented a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases by people on the federal terror watch list. His amendment was seen as a compromise, but it failed 53-47.
Democrats opposed the Cornyn measure because they believe it would hinder federal efforts to stop terrorists from buying guns. The three-day wait, they argued, would not be enough time to prove their case in court, which would be required under the Cornyn proposal.
“If this hearing is not completed within 72 hours, the gun sale goes through,” Feinstein said. “This is nearly impossible to achieve within 72 hours and if it isn’t achieved, the terrorist gets a gun.”
But Cornyn argued the Feinstein measure would curtail the constitutional right of U.S. citizens to own a gun because the government does not have to prove its case to a judge or magistrate.
Republicans have been critical of the terror watch list, which is secretive and error-prone.
“We ought to be asking ourselves if there are those in this chamber and this body who believe you can deny American citizens their constitutional rights without due process of law based on a secret list that the government maintains,” Cornyn argued before the vote.
Earlier in the evening, the Senate rejected third proposal from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who led last week’s Senate filibuster to argue for tighter gun restrictions after a shooting massacre in Orlando, Florida. Murphy’s amendment would have expanded background checks to gun shows and online purchases, but it failed to win even a majority of Senate votes, and it failed 44-56.
And finally, Democrats blocked a fourth amendment authored by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, that would bolster the federal background check system used for purchasing firearms. Democrats said they voted against Grassley’s plan because it does not expand background checks to close so-called loopholes for sales online and at gun shows.
Grassley’s measure also failed 53-47. Two Republicans voted against Grassley’s amendment: Sens. Mark Kirk, Ill., and Cory Gardner, Colo. One Democrat, Sen. Joe Donnelly, Ind., voted for it.
The votes were scheduled after Murphy and other Democrats held the floor for 15 hours last week, demanding action on gun control following the Orlando, Fla., terrorist attack that killed 49 people earlier this month. But versions of each measure were defeated in the Senate in December.
Lawmakers in both parties are now calling for Congress to hash out a compromise that can pass that would implement changes preventing further mass shootings.
“Today is, in a sense, the beginning of a new chapter when perhaps we can see common ground in light of the sea change and tipping point we have reached in this nation,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said before the vote. “We can seek common ground on legislation that is realistic. There is a basis for common ground and I’m committed to seek it.”
