In the wake of recent mass and police shootings, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says Congress may be gearing up to consider more gun legislation. But, Whitehouse cautions that he has seen similar efforts fail before.
Whitehouse says he’s hopeful about legislation that would restrict people who are on anti-terrorism no-fly lists from buying guns. It’s currently in limbo. Still, Whitehouse says the outlook is promising for gun control advocates.
“It’s less that the bill will make a very big difference on its own, than it’s the sign of a crack in the NRA’s armor,” said Whitehouse. “And it would be nice to put a crack in their armor, because they have drawn some very, very harsh, extreme positions on allowing terrorists or people on the terrorist watch list to buy guns in America.”
In a statement, the National Rifle Association has said that it does not believe terrorists should be allowed to buy guns, but that there should be provisions for people who are inadvertently placed on the no-fly list.
But Whitehouse says he felt the same hope about gun control legislation a few months ago when senators introduced bi-partisan legislation that included language on gun background checks.
“There was the appearance of a breakthrough several months ago when Sen. Manchin and Sen. Toomey, Democrat and Republican, agreed on a bill that at the time had the support of the NRA, that would have restricted access to the loopholes around the laws,” said Whitehouse.
But Whitehouse says the National Rifle Association helped scuttle the deal. The NRA has said that current background checks are sufficient and that most would-be criminals obtain guns through theft, circumventing the background check system.
