House Democrats on Wednesday called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to allow a vote on legislation banning people on a federal terror watch list from purchasing firearms.
“I think the votes are there,” Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told reporters. “The bill has to come to the floor. The speaker has to do that.”
Democrats have tried a dozen times to bring up the bill, but have been easily voted down by the GOP majority. They are circulating a floor petition that requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the bill and have about 180 Democratic signatures.
“We just came from our caucus meeting where the level of frustration within our caucus is rising,” said Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., a member of the party leadership. “The Democratic caucus is frustrated because the Republican caucus continues to do nothing, while there are mass slaughters going on weekly in the United States.”
Democrats are increasing pressure in the wake of the Orlando terrorist shooting that left 49 dead and 53 wounded. Shooter Omar Mateen had been on the terror watch list, also known as the no-fly list, but federal officials had removed him from it.
“The least we can do is the no-fly, no-buy,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referring to the legislation’s commonly used name.
Democrats in both the House and Senate are stepping up pressure on the GOP to allow votes on gun control legislation.
Senate Democrats say they will try to force a vote on legislation sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, R-Calif., that would prohibit those on the terror watch list or under a certain level of federal scrutiny, from buying guns or explosives.
Senate Republicans have their own anti-terror bill, which would install a three-day waiting period and an expedited court review for those on the terror watch list seeking to buy guns. Both GOP and Democratic senators say there could be room for compromise between the two measures but have had no formal discussions on it.
Critics of the Democratic bill say the watch list is notoriously error-prone and has swept in many innocent people who would be stripped of their constitutional right to gun ownership, without any due process rights.
Senate Democrats are also seeking to pass legislation that would expand background checks and ultimately, a ban on certain weapons, including the one Mateen used in Orlando.
Crowley called the no-fly, no-buy legislation “a start.”
