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| Reid Supports Gun Curbs; Background Checks in Peril | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — As the Senate began debate on a number of gun measures on Wednesday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, broke his long faith with the National Rifle Association and said he would vote for a ban on assault weapons. | WASHINGTON — As the Senate began debate on a number of gun measures on Wednesday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, broke his long faith with the National Rifle Association and said he would vote for a ban on assault weapons. |
| “We must strike a better balance between the right to defend ourselves and the right of every child in America to grow up safe from gun violence,” Mr. Reid said from the Senate floor on Wednesday morning. | |
| “I’ll vote for the ban because maintaining the law and order is more important than satisfying conspiracy theorists who believe in black helicopters and false flags,” he said. “I’ll vote for the ban because saving the lives of police officers, young and old, and innocent civilians, young and old, is more important than preventing imagined tyranny,” he said. | “I’ll vote for the ban because maintaining the law and order is more important than satisfying conspiracy theorists who believe in black helicopters and false flags,” he said. “I’ll vote for the ban because saving the lives of police officers, young and old, and innocent civilians, young and old, is more important than preventing imagined tyranny,” he said. |
| The Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon on gun measures that may determine the shape of legislation inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn. | The Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon on gun measures that may determine the shape of legislation inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn. |
| By late Tuesday night, a bipartisan amendment to the legislation, which would expand background checks for gun buyers, seemed all but doomed as two members who the measure’s sponsors had hoped would support it announced they would not. | By late Tuesday night, a bipartisan amendment to the legislation, which would expand background checks for gun buyers, seemed all but doomed as two members who the measure’s sponsors had hoped would support it announced they would not. |
| Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, citing constitutional worries, said he would vote against it. And late Tuesday night, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said she, too, would reject the amendment, and threw her support behind a competing Republican measure. A handful of Democrats who were central to its passage would not commit to voting for it, and seemed increasingly likely to turn against the measure as its prospects for passage dimmed. | |
| Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said Wednesday he was still scrambling for votes on the background check amendment that he created with Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. | Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said Wednesday he was still scrambling for votes on the background check amendment that he created with Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. |
| Under an agreement reached Tuesday evening, the Senate will vote on as many as nine amendments in an afternoon rush. Three are largely Democratic: a provision expanding background checks to firearms bought at gun shows or on the Internet, a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban, and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. | Under an agreement reached Tuesday evening, the Senate will vote on as many as nine amendments in an afternoon rush. Three are largely Democratic: a provision expanding background checks to firearms bought at gun shows or on the Internet, a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban, and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. |
| Others are Republican: a mandate that any state permit for carrying a concealed weapon be honored by virtually every other state, a broad alternative gun measure aimed at mental health care and school safety, and another helping veterans clear their names to obtain firearms. | Others are Republican: a mandate that any state permit for carrying a concealed weapon be honored by virtually every other state, a broad alternative gun measure aimed at mental health care and school safety, and another helping veterans clear their names to obtain firearms. |
| Two other measures are bipartisan, one to crack down on gun trafficking and another to bolster mental health treatment. | Two other measures are bipartisan, one to crack down on gun trafficking and another to bolster mental health treatment. |
| The outcome of the votes could determine the bill’s fate. If Republicans prevail and the measure shifts too far in the direction of new gun rights, the Democratic-controlled Senate may end up killing its own bill. | The outcome of the votes could determine the bill’s fate. If Republicans prevail and the measure shifts too far in the direction of new gun rights, the Democratic-controlled Senate may end up killing its own bill. |
| Republicans are lining up behind an amendment that would effectively create a national conceal-carry law, a goal that gun groups have been pressing for years. | Republicans are lining up behind an amendment that would effectively create a national conceal-carry law, a goal that gun groups have been pressing for years. |
| “You could actually expand the Second Amendment” with the bill, said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. | “You could actually expand the Second Amendment” with the bill, said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. |
| Senate Democrats, trying to simply hold their ranks together behind a background check amendment written by Senators Manchin and Toomey, met for an emotional luncheon on Tuesday. Mr. Manchin gave a tearful, impassioned appeal for his measure as former Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona looked on. Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, retold in detail the story of the professor at Virginia Tech who threw his body in front of a door to save students during the massacre there in 2007. | |
| “It was really dramatic and convincing,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. | “It was really dramatic and convincing,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. |
| Most legislative battles are fought with one party on offense, the other on defense. On guns, both parties see an opportunity to press their agendas, pursuing opposite goals and battling over the votes of the same conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans. In 1999, after the Columbine High School shootings, the Senate voted to expand federal background checks to purchases at gun shows, only to see a bipartisan coalition in the House vote to loosen existing background check rules. The legislation ultimately died. | Most legislative battles are fought with one party on offense, the other on defense. On guns, both parties see an opportunity to press their agendas, pursuing opposite goals and battling over the votes of the same conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans. In 1999, after the Columbine High School shootings, the Senate voted to expand federal background checks to purchases at gun shows, only to see a bipartisan coalition in the House vote to loosen existing background check rules. The legislation ultimately died. |
| The same dynamic could be developing this time. Republicans, increasingly confident that they will be able to sustain a filibuster on expanded background checks, have turned their attention to their own priorities, especially a conceal-and-carry measure being drafted by Senator John Cornyn of Texas. | The same dynamic could be developing this time. Republicans, increasingly confident that they will be able to sustain a filibuster on expanded background checks, have turned their attention to their own priorities, especially a conceal-and-carry measure being drafted by Senator John Cornyn of Texas. |
| Under that measure, any state with a conceal-and-carry rule would have to recognize the permit of any other state. Only Illinois and Washington, D.C., prohibit concealed weapons. | Under that measure, any state with a conceal-and-carry rule would have to recognize the permit of any other state. Only Illinois and Washington, D.C., prohibit concealed weapons. |
| But while some state standards are low, other states maintain restrictive rules on concealed weapons and grant local law enforcement officials latitude to deny such permits, as they do in New York City, said Jonathan Lowy, the director of the legal action project at the Brady Center, a gun control group. The Cornyn amendment would allow a gun owner in Texas to carry his firearm in Times Square. Gun control advocates say the Cornyn measure would foster a race to the bottom, as gun owners in more restrictive states argue that they should not be held to standards that visitors are not held to. | But while some state standards are low, other states maintain restrictive rules on concealed weapons and grant local law enforcement officials latitude to deny such permits, as they do in New York City, said Jonathan Lowy, the director of the legal action project at the Brady Center, a gun control group. The Cornyn amendment would allow a gun owner in Texas to carry his firearm in Times Square. Gun control advocates say the Cornyn measure would foster a race to the bottom, as gun owners in more restrictive states argue that they should not be held to standards that visitors are not held to. |
| Advocates see no difference between that rule and regulations that make each state recognize driver’s licenses from all other states, and it will almost certainly be backed by a number of Democrats. In 2009, a similar measure received 58 votes, including those of 20 Democrats, 13 of whom are still in the Senate. That was two votes short of the 60 needed for passage. | Advocates see no difference between that rule and regulations that make each state recognize driver’s licenses from all other states, and it will almost certainly be backed by a number of Democrats. In 2009, a similar measure received 58 votes, including those of 20 Democrats, 13 of whom are still in the Senate. That was two votes short of the 60 needed for passage. |
| Mr. Reid supported it then, and Mr. Manchin said he would support it now. | Mr. Reid supported it then, and Mr. Manchin said he would support it now. |
| Mr. Reid did not rule out voting “yes” again, but he added, “I think we’ve all learned a lot in recent years, about first graders mowed down, people watching a movie being victims of an attack, a courthouse in Las Vegas.” | Mr. Reid did not rule out voting “yes” again, but he added, “I think we’ve all learned a lot in recent years, about first graders mowed down, people watching a movie being victims of an attack, a courthouse in Las Vegas.” |
| Republicans were also readying their own background check amendments as alternatives to the Manchin-Toomey provision, which would extend such checks to firearms bought at gun shows or on the Internet. If the Manchin-Toomey version is defeated, the gun measure on the floor would be left with a more expansive background check provision with even less support, and the overall gun bill would have an even steeper climb to passage. | Republicans were also readying their own background check amendments as alternatives to the Manchin-Toomey provision, which would extend such checks to firearms bought at gun shows or on the Internet. If the Manchin-Toomey version is defeated, the gun measure on the floor would be left with a more expansive background check provision with even less support, and the overall gun bill would have an even steeper climb to passage. |