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Toomey Responds to Senate Vote on Background Checks

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Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey issued the following statement following the rejection by the Senate of the Manchin-Toomey amendment on background checks:

“I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our amendment did not pass. It’s not the outcome I hoped for, but the Senate has spoken on the subject, and it’s time to move on. We have a lot of other very important issues to deal with such as getting the economy back on track, dealing with the debt ceiling and creating more jobs for Pennsylvanians.” 

 

The Senate voted 54-46 in favor of the measure, but 60 votes were required to advance the legislation.

 

US Senate Rejects Background Checks Amendment

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54-senators voted in favor of the bipartisan background check amendment; 46 opposed it.  That’s short of the 60-vote threshold required to advance the measure, which was the work of Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin.

You can read the entire statements released by Sen. Toomey and the NRA’s Chris W. Cox below: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) issued the following statement after the Senate voted down the Manchin-Toomey amendment that would have made it harder for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to obtain guns while preserving the rights of law-abiding people to do so.

“I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our amendment did not pass. It’s not the outcome I hoped for, but the Senate has spoken on the subject, and it’s time to move on. We have a lot of other very important issues to deal with such as getting the economy back on track, dealing with the debt ceiling and creating more jobs for Pennsylvanians.” 

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Today, the misguided Manchin-Toomey-Schumer proposal failed in the U.S. Senate. This amendment would have criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens, requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution. 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.

The NRA will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats who are committed to protecting our children in schools, prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and fixing our broken mental health system. We are grateful for the hard work and leadership of those Senators who chose to pursue meaningful solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.

Radio PA Roundtable 04.12.13

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul hash out the background check compromise ironed out by, among others, Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. The governor is on a trade mission to South America and he checks in by telephone from Sao Paulo. And, Matt has an interview on the subject of “emotional eating.”

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable04-12-13.mp3]

Sen. Toomey Brokers Deal to Close Gun Show Loophole

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Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey is at the forefront of a bipartisan deal to expand background checks on gun sales.  The amendment Toomey crafted with West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin would extend the instant background checks to gun shows and online gun sales.  Exemptions would remain for many individuals’ gun sales.    

While he’s already catching flak from some fellow Republicans and the NRA, Toomey says he is not swaying from his conservative views.  “I don’t think trying to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals is gun control,” Toomey told reporters on a late morning conference call.  “I think it’s common sense.” 

Pat Toomey (R-PA)

Pat Toomey (R-PA)

When the gun bill before the US Senate is formally considered, the Toomey/Manchin background check plan will be the first amendment taken up by the chamber.  However, it’s still unclear what will ultimately happen with the underlying bill or the amendment.    

Toomey says his expanded background checks plan protects 2nd Amendment Rights and explicitly bars the federal government from creating a gun registry.  He also maintains his opposition to an assault weapons ban. 

Just as details of the Toomey / Manchin plan were being unveiled in Washington DC, Wednesday, Democrats in Harrisburg unveiled their own plan for universal background checks in the Keystone State.

Guns, Seized Guns

Advocates ‘Demand Action’ to End Gun Violence

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The US Senate Judiciary Committee has already advanced four pieces of gun legislation, but it remains to be seen what the chamber will vote upon when it reconvenes next month.  Regardless of what happens, Vice President Joe Biden says it’s just the beginning.  “The American people are way ahead of their political leaders and we – the president and I and the mayors – intend to stay current with the American people,” Biden said on a Wednesday conference call hosted by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The call came in advance of what advocates are calling the “National Day to Demand Action” to end gun violence.  In the Keystone State, rallies are planned, Thursday, in Easton and Norristown.  Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter also has a Thursday news conference planned to address the issue. 

Vice President Biden laid out a number of priorities on the call, including universal background checks.  “No federal registry is kept, it’s not gun registration, it’s common sense,” Biden said, noting that such background checks only take minutes.  He says a loophole in the existing law allows 40% of guns to be purchased without a background check. 

Mayors Against Illegal Guns has already launched a TV ad campaign in Pennsylvania, urging Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) to support expanded background checks. 

This is all in anticipation of a Senate debate next month, which is expected could include background checks either in the principle bill or as an amendment. 

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania gun rights supporters already have a date circled on their calendars next month.  April 23rd will mark Second Amendment Action Day at the state capitol.

Guns, Seized Guns

Mayors Seek to Block Gun Bills

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A group of Pennsylvania mayors gathered on the state capitol steps, Tuesday, to denounce legislative efforts they say would undercut the progress they’ve made to protect public safety. 

At issue are bills which would give gun owners and the National Rifle Association (NRA) legal status to sue municipalities that have enacted local gun control ordinances, and allow the plaintiffs to collect legal fees from the municipalities.

“That is really doing nothing except slapping back cities that are trying to crack down on gun trafficking, and I don’t understand why they would possibly want to do that,” says Max Nacheman, director of the gun violence prevention group CeaseFire PA. 

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), who sponsored HB 1523, says the goal is simply to put teeth behind existing state law that preempts local governments from passing their own gun control laws.  “I can’t believe the brazen arrogance of these elected officials that will violate state law, and then stand up and claim that the state legislature is doing something that’s going to harm taxpayers, when we’re trying to actually make sure the law’s enforced,”  Metcalfe tells Radio PA. 

In a February letter to legislative leaders, some 160 mayors said that asking a gun owner to notify their local police department when their gun is lost or stolen is hardly too much to ask.  Over 30-municipalities have passed such ordinances, and CeaseFire PA says six NRA lawsuits have been rejected because the courts have found they were not “adversely affected.”  The bills in question would change the legal rules however. 

Metcalfe is optimistic that his bill will come up for a House vote this session.