The Hill- New push to expand gun background checks

Republican gun reformers aren't expecting any support from leadership on legislation to expand background checks for all commercial gun sales reintroduced in the House on Wednesday.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) who co-authored the Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015 with Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), said he hasn't spoken with GOP leaders about his bill, but he acknowledged they will almost certainly oppose it.

"I don't expect to get their support," he said.

King said the response he gets from the Republican critics boils down to one thing: "The Second Amendment, which doesn't answer the question at all.

"I mean, why you'd want criminals and psychos to have guns is beyond me."

Under current law, federally licensed gun dealers are required to screen all potential buyers through an FBI database to weed out felons, fugitives, spousal abusers, the severely mentally ill and other groups barred from buying or owning firearms. Unlicensed gun sellers, however, are not required to perform the same background checks – an enormous loophole that allows most anyone to buy weapons in the United States.

Unveiled Wednesday, the Thompson-King bill would expand the screening requirement to most private sellers, including those operating at gun shows and online.

But Republicans say expanded screenings would create new burdens on gun owners and threaten Second Amendment rights -- a charge rejected by Thompson and other supporters of his bill.

"If this bill violated the Second Amendment, my name wouldn't be on it," Thompson said.

When introduced last session, Thompson said the bill had 189 co-sponsors, but never made it to the floor for a vote. A companion bill in the Senate only gained support from 55 lawmakers – five shy of the 60 needed to defeat a Republican filibuster.

But Thompson said the bill would have passed if it received a House vote. He pointed to an amendment he introduced to increase funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which passed with 260 votes last session.

"It makes no sense to fully fund the program and then be unwilling to vote to use that program," he said. "We need to get a vote on the bill and when we do we'll get it passed. "

The bill now has six original co-sponsors including Reps. Bob Dold (R-Ill.), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.)

The National Rifle Association last Congress opposed an even less stringent proposal expanding background checks from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

"It is telling that this legislation was reintroduced with only 8 co-sponsors," NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said in response to the King-Thompson legislation. "The fact is that the majority of Americans do not support more gun control and they made their voices heard last November."