Senate Democrats are going to force another vote on the "no fly, no buy" bill they've already offered several times to keep people who are on the terrorist watch list from legally buying firearms. Because there currently is no prohibition on potential terrorists legally buying firearms. That sounds kind of bad even to some Republicans, who might lend their support this time around, or possibly support a compromise bill.
At least one Republican—Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, the Republican most at risk of losing his seat—told reporters Tuesday he would support the measure and is hopeful his Republican colleagues would join in. Kirk was the only Republican to vote for the amendment when it was introduced at the end of last year.
But other senators in battleground Senate races also said they were open to voting for a measure addressing the issue and pushed for a compromise between Feinstein’s measure and one offered by Republican Sen. John Cornyn—which Republicans voted for last year. The Texas Republican’s legislation would give the attorney general or U.S. attorney in the district 72 hours to delay those on the terror watch list from buying a gun. It would ban the person permanently from from buying a gun, if the attorney can show that there was probably cause.
Wisconsin's Ron Johnson is one of those very vulnerable Republicans who might think about voting for that compromise, as is New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte. Ohio's Rob Portman is in that boat, too. For her part, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat who sponsored the legislation, says she's open to talking with Cornyn and other Republican leaders about that compromise.
She shouldn't be.
This isn't a radical proposition we're talking about here, that people who might be terrorists shouldn't have easy access to guns. Don't let Republicans hide behind a system that would create little more than a lot of red tape. (And how's that for irony? Republicans wanting to add additional layers of regulation and bureaucracy to something.)
Make these Republican senators stand firmly against the NRA on this one thing they say they’re considering. Make them choose between American lives and the NRA.