Tag: common sense gun laws

House passes bill expanding background checks on gun sales

The House passed a bipartisan bill that would require all gun sellers to conduct background checks on firearm sales in a 240-190 vote on Wednesday.

While the bill — spearheaded by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Pete King (R-N.Y.) — had five Republican co-sponsors, it passed largely along party lines, with just eight GOP lawmakers voting in favor of the measure. Two Democrats opted to vote against it.

The bill was amended at the eleventh hour after Democrats failed to whip enough votes against a Republican-backed motion to recommit that would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be notified when immigrants who do not have legal status attempt to purchase a firearm.

View the complete February 27 article yb Juliegrace Brufke on The Hill website here.

Minnesota House DFLers respond to Gun Owners Lobby Day

St. Paul, Minnesota — The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus is holding their annual lobby day at the Capitol today, standing with Republicans in opposition to reasonable gun violence prevention measures supported by a strong majority of Minnesotans. House DFLers introduced two measures to prevent gun violence — criminal background checks and extreme risk protection orders — in their Minnesota Values Agenda earlier this month.

“Minnesotans have been loud and clear that they want their legislators to address the epidemic of senseless gun violence in our communities,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman. “House DFLers are committed to common-sense solutions like criminal background checks on all gun sales and extreme risk protection orders to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”

“Finally, we need to do what is right, regardless of those who say there’s nothing we can do to solve this problem or that more guns are somehow the answer,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “Minnesotans deserve to be safe in their homes, their schools, their workplaces, and public spaces. There are reasonable, common-sense gun safety measures that we can work on to make our families, communities, and Minnesota safer.” Continue reading “Minnesota House DFLers respond to Gun Owners Lobby Day”

Rep. Phillips cosponsors universal background checks bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips is cosponsoring a bill that would require universal background checks for nearly all firearm purchases.

Phillips, who is in his first term representing Minnesota’s 3rd District, announced on Jan. 8 that he is cosponsoring the universal background checks bill, H.R. 8.

“This is not a partisan issue,” Phillips said in a statement. “In fact, the vast majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans support universal background checks on gun sales. Passing H.R. 8 won’t end our gun violence crisis, but it is an important first step, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join us in advancing this long overdue legislation.”

View the complete January 15 article by Melissa Turtinen on The Lakeshore Weekly News website here.

After CNN town hall, Marco Rubio dismisses audience of survivors as ‘well outside the mainstream’

The following article by Aaron Rupar was posted on the ThinkProgress website February 22, 2018:

Credit: Screenshot

Polling doesn’t back him up.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) seemed to score a remarkable own goal during CNN’s gun violence town hall on Wednesday, when he mentioned the possibility of an assault weapons ban as though it would be a very bad thing — and the crowd erupted in cheers.

“It’s not the loopholes, it’s the problem that once you start looking at how easy it is to get around it, you would literally have to ban every semi-automatic rifle that’s sold in America,” Rubio said, as the crowd broke out in a roar. Continue reading “After CNN town hall, Marco Rubio dismisses audience of survivors as ‘well outside the mainstream’”