© Provided by Washington Examiner The House Tuesday began debating legislation to expand firearm background checks in what the party hopes will become the first new gun control laws in decades.
The House will vote on the bill Wednesday, and it is poised to pass legislation to expand background checks and a bill that would extend the window to conduct background checks on firearm purchases.
Democrats passed both bills in 2019, but the GOP-led Senate ignored the legislation.
Now, Democrats control the Senate, House, and White House and are making a new effort to push the two measures into law.
Democrats believe expanded background checks will curb gun violence, including a string of devastating mass shootings that have plagued the country in recent years.
"Universal criminal background checks legislation is reasonable under the circumstances, given the tragedies that we confront," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said during opening House floor debate.
"Democrats will not just talk about it, we are doing something about it, and that is why we will pass this bill, and we will have a Senate and a president who will ultimately get it over the finish line."
Few Republicans are expected to support the background check bill or a second bill expanding the window to conduct background checks from three to 10 days.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, introduced the bill following the June 2015 mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
The shooter, Dylann Roof, was not eligible to purchase the gun he used to kill nine people in the attack but was able to purchase the firearm because the background check window had expired.
"If he had not gotten the gun illegally, these souls would be alive today," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat.
The expanded background check bill would make it illegal to transfer a firearm to another person without a background check performed by a licensed dealer.
The legislation carves out some exceptions for family members and some transfers associated with law enforcement and the military. The bill would also exclude the background check requirement for temporary transfers of firearms "that is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm."
Democrats Tuesday touted bipartisan support. Eight House Republicans voted for it in 2019, but it's not clear whether Democrats would get the 10 Republican votes in the Senate to circumvent a filibuster.
Senate Democrats introduced identical legislation this week and are expected to try to take up the two bills at some point once the House passes the legislation on Wednesday.
Senate legislation requires 60 votes, which means at least 10 Republicans would have to back both of the bills to pass them.
"Joe Biden and hundreds of congressional candidates from both parties ran on the issue [of] background checks," said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat. "This is the year to get this bill passed into law."
During House floor debate Tuesday, Republicans argued the measure would curb the constitutional right to gun ownership and target law-abiding owners rather than the criminals who typically gain access to guns illegally before committing shootings.
"It's a problem of criminals not being prosecuted," said Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican. "We have FBI that don't follow the background checks, don't do it in a timely fashion. We have a justice department that doesn't prosecute gun crimes. And we blame it on law-abiding citizens."
Tags: News, Congress, Second Amendment, Firearms, Gun Control
Original Author: Susan Ferrechio
Original Location: House opens debate on dual gun control bills