WASHINGTON — Disappointment with a dash of anger.
That was the go-to mood for Senate Democrats after the chamber failed to pass an expansion of federal background checks for gun sales on Wednesday, a week after a bipartisan pair of lawmakers hashed out a compromise bill on that point.
Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken voted for the bill, a watered-down version of the background checks gun-control advocates had hoped Congress would pass after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December.
“It’s very disappointing because, really, 85- to 90-something percent of Americans are for a strengthened background check,” Franken said in an interview. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
The amendment would have extended instant background checks to Internet gun sales and those made at gun shows, while exempting personal sales. Gun rights activists, led by the National Rifle Association, opposed the bill, even though it was seen as crafted and pitched as a bipartisan compromise.
The final vote was 54-46, short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Six Democrats voted no (one for procedural purposes), and four Republicans voted yes.
In total, senators voted on seven gun amendments on Monday and passed none of them. The amendments ranged from long-doomed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity clips to a Republican plan meant to replace Democratic gun violence legislation.
In ways, the underlying bill is stronger than the amendments offered to it, especially when it comes to the background-check provision. Thus, the Senate effectively cut off expanded background checks’ only clear path forward on Wednesday.
Democrats: Voters want expanded checks
Democrats had tried to grow support for the background-check amendment but had little luck dislodging opposition among Republicans and moderate Democrats. Vote counts done by the media had projected its failure by Wednesday morning.
Before and after the vote, supporters' message had a common theme: Voters support expanded background checks, even if they’re divided on more sweeping gun proposals. Democrats have long pushed polling that shows support for expanded background checks topping 90 percent in some cases.
“The people are ahead of the discussion in Washington right now,” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said in an online chat with Vice President Joe Biden before the vote. “I can’t give up because I know the moms I’ve stood with on corners with dead kids, and I've been at funerals.”
After the vote, many Democrats promised to keep working on the issue.
In a post-vote press conference flanked by family of those killed in shootings, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said: “Things change quickly here in Washington. … They changed for gay marriage, they’re changing for immigration, they will change for gun safety, sooner than you think.”
Republicans, NRA blast bill
Bill opponents said there are better ways to prevent gun violence than instituting expanded background checks, which would only intrude on the rights of would-be gun owners. The NRA put out a statement last week opposing the bill, saying, “As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools.”
That was the mantra for bill opponents, Republicans and Democrats alike.
“It doesn’t address the problem,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who introduced the Republicans’ alternative measure, which failed 52-46. “It doesn’t target violent criminals. Instead what it does is target law-abiding citizens.”
Democrats and amendment backers disagreed, and met the defeat with varying degrees of disappointment and anger.
- “While today’s vote on this bipartisan compromise is disappointing,” Klobuchar said in a statement, “I will continue to work with law enforcement to find a way forward to strengthen background checks, and build on the bipartisan support we’ve seen on other issues in the Senate.”
- “Today was a heartbreaker … probably my saddest day in my years of public life,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.
- “This is a sad day, but this is a shameful day too,” his Connecticut colleague Sen. Chris Murphy said.
- “All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,” President Obama said.
“I just know that personally, what happened in Sandy Hook, some version of it’s going to happen again,” Franken said. “I think it’s actually disgraceful that we couldn’t get this done.”
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry