WASHINGTON — How has the Orlando shooting slaughter affected the politics of gun control in Congress? A bipartisan House measure barring firearms sales to some suspected terrorists nicely captures the mix of new and familiar forces in play.
The mere introduction Friday of a proposal backed by five Republicans and four Democrats highlights the post-Orlando, election-year pressures some lawmakers feel for action. One sponsor said that when the House returns from its July 4 recess, they will push GOP leaders for a vote.
“The pressure will be continuous, it will be respectful but we’re not going to let go of this,” said Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va.
Yet Rigell also said to get a vote, they must show that their support from colleagues “eclipses that of the NRA” — an acknowledgment of the National Rifle Association’s formidable clout in Congress.
No one expects lawmakers to broadly tighten gun curbs, even after the June 12 Orlando attack that left 49 dead, the worst mass-shooting in modern U.S. history. Yet a few small cracks are showing in the grip that Republicans and the NRA have long had on the issue.
The new House bill is identical to a bipartisan compromise by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that the Senate sidetracked with a procedural vote Thursday. The NRA-opposed measure would block gun sales to people on the government’s no-fly list and to those required to be extensively examined before boarding a plane.
Most Republicans voted “no,” saying it inadequately protected people erroneously on those lists.
Yet seven Republicans joined Collins in backing the bill, an unusually high number. One of her co-sponsors was Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who often supports the NRA and faces re-election in 2018.
Three Republicans backing Collins have tight re-election fights this year. One, N.H. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, also voted this week for a more sweeping measure resembling one she’d opposed just seven months ago.