Orlando shooting: US Senate Rejects Tighter Gun Control
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Republican-controlled US Senate rejected four competing gun control measures just days after the Orlando nightclub massacre, highlighting the feuding over an issue set to resonate during a heated presidential election year.
With a month to go before Republicans and Democrats formally nominate their White House hopefuls, lawmakers failed on Monday to compromise on one of the most sensitive hot-button issues in America.
Even as they sought to appear keen to take action after the deadliest mass shooting in US history that left 49 dead at a gay nightclub in Orlando a week ago, Republicans and Democrats voted down four amendments - two from each party - that would have limited some gun purchases, including those by suspects on FBI watchlists.
"The recent attacks in Orlando - as much as people are concerned and upset about them - are not going to force members of Congress to fundamentally vote against their own self-interest," Jason Johnson, political science professor at Hiram College, told Al Jazeera.
"Their own self-interest is that they want to have money from the National Rifle Association (NRA), they want to continue to have that kind of financial support running for office, and despite the fact that an overwhelming proportion of Americans, Republican and Democrats - and gun owners - think that at least some of these four legislative ideas were reasonable policy, Congress is not going to move that way."
The two Democratic texts sought to bar those on FBI watchlists or no-fly lists from buying firearms, and to strengthen criminal and mental health background checks for those seeking to purchase firearms at gun shows and on the Internet.
Republicans are opposed to those measures. In general, they oppose any effort to limit gun rights, saying they are protected by the US Constitution's Second Amendment.
They proposed a 72-hour waiting period for those on FBI watchlists seeking to buy weapons, so that the government has time to seek a court order to block the sale if need be.
The second Republican proposal aimed to improve the background check system. Democrats rejected both GOP measures.
Such efforts often struggle to pass the Senate, where 60 of 100 votes are needed for legislation to advance.
The Senate voted on similar measures in the wake of the December 2012 Connecticut school massacre and the San Bernardino attacks last year, but to no avail.
The Senate voted on similar measures in the wake of the December 2012 Connecticut school massacre and the San Bernardino attacks last year, but to no avail.
