Sen. Pat Toomey, one of the nation’s leading lawmakers on gun control legislation, doesn’t see any changes at the federal level happening soon.
“Honestly, I don’t want to build up any false expectations,” the Pennsylvania Republican said on MSNBC Wednesday morning. “I’m not aware that we’ve got the votes to do what Senator [Joe] Manchin and I attempted.”
Toomey and Manchin, D-W.Va., led a push in the Senate to expand background checks for people buying guns after the December 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. However, the legislation failed to overcome a Senate filibuster in April 2013.
“Is it possible that some portion of that, some subset of what we were focused on is possible? Honestly, probably not likely,” said Toomey, who also said he thinks “background checks” is in a different category than “gun control.”
“But I think the fundamental idea is sound, and I intend to continue discussions with my colleagues to see if there might be some support for some way forward,” he added.
Toomey, who accepted the “Sandy Hook Promise Champion Award” this week for his work on the issues of gun violence and gun control, said most people are in general agreement that convicted criminals and people deemed mentally unfit shouldn’t have guns.
“Unfortunately, it became controversial to establish a procedure to broaden the background checks,” he said. “I’m very disappointed. I think some people mischaracterized the legislation and that led others to oppose it, but look, I think it’s the right thing to do.”
