Judiciary Committee Continues Gun Legislation Work

The Senate Judiciary Committee continued its work on gun-control legislation on March 12, approving two bills and sending them to the full Senate for consideration—likely to occur in early April. Despite months of negotiations, a bipartisan compromise remains elusive on a bill addressing background checks. As a result, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) chose to run his preferred language on background checks, which does not have the backing of any of the other senators who were working on a compromise. The “Fix Gun Checks Act” proposed by Schumer calls for  universal background checks with very few exceptions, and, as Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pointed out, was not ready for consideration, as it was full of problems. Despite Grassley’s objection and numerous examples of flaws, the bill was approved on a straight party-line vote, 10-8.