Senate Democrats will begin a campaign to combat gun violence on Thursday as party leaders prepare to unveil a sweeping package of legislation that builds on their failed 2013 attempt to require universal background checks for gun purchases, according to senators and aides.
The goal is to have the entire caucus, minus perhaps one centrist Democrat, backing a legislative package aimed at preventing guns from ending up in the hands of the wrong people.
In addition to background checks, Democrats are aiming to add new money for the Justice Department’s existing background checks system that has recently faltered and include provisions to prevent domestic abusers from buying guns, sources familiar with the package said. The measure is also expected to include a proposal from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) intended to cut down on gun trafficking, sources said.
The package, which will be discussed at a Thursday press conference but is unlikely to be officially introduced this week, also aims to ensure that all key records are sent to a federal database and would make straw purchasing a federal crime.
“We want to solve the problem and not just talk. So we’re putting forward something that’s solid and is supported by 90 percent of the American people,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a leading advocate for stricter gun laws. “The critics of the Congress are right: We’re not doing enough to protect against gun violence, so we’re stepping up to show that we can do it.”
The proposal is not likely to get a vote under the reign of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), but Democrats say the package is intended to show that Democrats are serious about reducing gun deaths but can’t make headway in a Republican Senate. Republicans, led by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, are pitching changes to the U.S. mental health system as a preferred way to deal with mass shootings.
Democratic leaders are wary that their rank-and-file could defect and begin supporting the Cornyn bill, which is backed by the National Rifle Association and is not viewed by Democrats as an effective way to combat day-to-day gun violence in big cities like Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore and St. Louis.
“I sense almost a seismic shift in public reaction. It may just be the aftermath of the Oregon shooting but I really do think it will happen,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), referring to the massacre at a community college in Roseburg, Ore., last week. “That point will come. And it may not be everything we want but there will be steps toward gun violence protection.”
Senate Democrats are rallying around three key points: Closing loopholes in the current background checks system, toughening up background checks in general, and shutting down the illegal pipeline of guns.
"All three of these principles would bolster the background check system by strengthening it and stopping those who try to evade it," according to a Dear Colleague letter obtained by POLITICO from Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who lead the Senate Democrats' policy and messaging arm. "These principles will be a rallying point for a public that is eager for Congressional action, and will be the basis for future legislation that we will demand receive a vote."
Democratic leaders are wary of making the kinds of compromises they did during a 2013 effort to combat gun violence, only to see that measure fall in the face of bipartisan opposition. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid won’t be able to attend the press conference on Thursday morning on the East Front of the Capitol (he is attending a funeral for a former staffer), but he wrote his caucus on Wednesday to urge a strong turnout among Senate Democrats.
“It is within our power to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings. Inaction is not an option,” Reid wrote in a separate Dear Colleague letter obtained by POLITICO. “We will again introduce a series of proposals to prevent those who should not have access to a gun from getting one.”
Democrats said that all their members except for Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota are expected to ultimately back the effort. Heitkamp said in an interview she wasn’t familiar with what her colleagues were planning but hasn’t changed her stance since 2013.
“We’ll look at it but I made my position pretty clear on background checks and I don’t plan on changing it,” Heitkamp said.
Heitkamp did support cracking down on straw purchases — where one person buys a firearm for someone else in order to evade gun laws — and gun trafficking in 2013, despite opposing the background checks legislation alongside three other centrist Democrats, all of whom are no longer in the Senate. Another conservative Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, still supports the background checks proposal he devised alongside Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) in 2013, but was not yet familiar with the new, larger package, an aide said.
What’s not clear is whether any Republicans would support the measure or if it would be a purely partisan political exercise. McConnell said on Tuesday that he’d “be taking a look” at Cornyn’s suggestion but aides declined to speculate on any imminent action on the issue. Toomey said in a brief interview that he’s "pursuing all options” to combat gun deaths.
But Toomey, one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the Senate, has not yet reintroduced his proposal with Manchin -- which Democrats view as an opportunity. Now that they are taking the lead, they hope to coax out positions from GOP senators up for reelection, putting them on the defensive as gun violence across the country continues. In addition to Toomey, Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine supported the 2013 background checks legislation; Kirk and McCain are also up for reelection next year.
Democratic sources said they are unlikely to offer their package as an amendment to unrelated legislation, instead pushing Republicans to either have a wide open gun debate or risk continued Democratic attacks. Republican aides declined to comment on legislation that has not been introduced.
