Eight Republicans alongside Dems on background checks for the sale of firearms

by



[ad_1]

On Wednesday, eight House Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of legislation that would require a universal audit of gun sales, despite opposition from the gun lobby.

Almost all Republicans who broke with their party are centrists, including several who represent competing neighborhoods.

The number of GOP defectors was only slightly higher than the five Republicans who had co-sponsored the legislation.

"Our laws can not be effective if there are gaping loopholes allowing criminals and deranged individuals to purchase firearms at a gun show or on the Internet without be subject to background checks. Today, I voted for HR 8 to fix these loopholes – a proposal supported by more than 90% of gun owners in America, according to respected polling organizations, "said Buchanan in a statement, according to a local affiliate of ABC.

The legislation would require universal background checks for the sale of firearms, including in gun shows and private online transactions. Current legislation only requires licensed gun dealers to conduct a background check before making a sale.

But it provides for exemptions in certain circumstances, including transfers between family members, their use in hunting and when they are "necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm", such as domestic violence.

Democrats also plan to target King, Mast and Upton in 2020, while Smith, Buchanan and Diaz-Balart are considered safe seats for the GOP.

Mast was reelected last November by 9 points. He went beyond the idea of ​​extending background checks to a stricter gun control measure: a ban on assault weapons.

Mast, an army veteran who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan, wrote in a New York Times editorial after last year's shootings at a Parkland High School. , Florida: "I can not support the main weapon with which I used our defense." people used to kill children I swore to defend. "

Golden, a freshman, said he opposed the law because it sounds like a voting initiative that Maine voters rejected in 2016.

"Maine is neither Chicago, nor Washington, nor New York." For many of my constituents, access to firearms is a necessary part of everyday life and we have a tradition of possessing firearms. Responsible firearms, "Golden said in a statement.

"To ensure that criminal criminals do not have guns, we need to strictly enforce the existing system of background checks and provide them with the resources to work," he added.

The House approved the draft law on background checks by a vote of 240-190 on Wednesday. Prior to the final vote, minority Republicans won a procedural vote that added wording to the bill requiring immigration and US customs authorities to be informed of immigrants without legal status who were attempting to do so. buy a firearm.

[ad_2]

Source link