Gun legislation remains stalled after Washington shootings

NBC NEWS - A day after a mass shooting left 13 dead within two miles of the Capitol, federal gun legislation is in the same place as it’s been for months: stalled in Congress...

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A day after a mass shooting left 13 dead within two miles of the Capitol, federal gun legislation is in the same place as it’s been for months: stalled in Congress.

Still stung by an April defeat in the Senate, discouraged proponents of gun control legislation say that the chances for change are still dim, even as new calls for reform echo in the wake of the Navy Yard massacre.

Aides and advocates say that little has changed from a political perspective to give supporters of gun control the five votes they would need to push through an amendment like the one crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that fell six votes short of passage in April.

“I’m listening to see if any of my colleagues are willing to change their vote on Manchin-Toomey,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and a longtime proponent of gun control. “I’ve not heard anything yet.”

“I haven’t, no,” Manchin said when asked if he’d seen any indications that momentum had shifted in favor of his proposal in the wake of the Navy Yard killings.

The Manchin-Toomey proposal, developed in the wake of the Newtown school shootings, would have mandated criminal background checks on most private sales and incorporated mental health records into the background check system. But it was defeated under heavy pressure from gun groups who said the law would restrict Second Amendment rights and invade gun owners’ privacy.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said flatly, “We don’t have the votes” to try again for expanded background checks.

The recall last week of two Colorado state senators who had promoted stronger gun regulations has done little to bolster gun control groups’ case that those who back new laws – even those deemed popular by pollsters – won’t face a political backlash at home, said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.

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