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GOP Senator Collins to introduce new gun control bill - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
by Jonathan Easley
By Jonathan Easley - 03/04/13 03:34 PM ET
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will introduce legislation with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Monday aimed at curbing the illegal trafficking of firearms.
Collins’s spokesman Kevin Kelley told The Hill in an email that details about the bill were coming “shortly.”
It’s unclear how the legislation will differ from Leahy’s previously introduced legislation making it easier for federal law officers to crack down on so-called “straw purchasers.” Leahy’s bill would add a new provision to the criminal code to make it illegal to purchase firearms on behalf of persons who are prohibited from owning them.
Federal prosecutors now have little legal basis to file charges against gun traffickers and often must rely on technical paperwork violations to build their cases.
The news that Collins is on board with Leahy’s effort is the latest evidence of a growing bipartisan consensus to act on at least some aspects of gun control.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to mark up Leahy’s legislation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) renewal of the federal assault weapons ban, a measure introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to increase federal grants for school safety, and Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) bill to expand background checks on private gun sales.
The mark up was delayed until this week, to give Schumer more time to work out a deal with Republicans, who say expanded background checks can’t include any semblance of a national registry to track gun purchases.
GOP Senator Collins to introduce new gun control bill - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
by Jonathan Easley
By Jonathan Easley - 03/04/13 03:34 PM ET
Tweet
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will introduce legislation with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Monday aimed at curbing the illegal trafficking of firearms.
Collins’s spokesman Kevin Kelley told The Hill in an email that details about the bill were coming “shortly.”
It’s unclear how the legislation will differ from Leahy’s previously introduced legislation making it easier for federal law officers to crack down on so-called “straw purchasers.” Leahy’s bill would add a new provision to the criminal code to make it illegal to purchase firearms on behalf of persons who are prohibited from owning them.
Federal prosecutors now have little legal basis to file charges against gun traffickers and often must rely on technical paperwork violations to build their cases.
The news that Collins is on board with Leahy’s effort is the latest evidence of a growing bipartisan consensus to act on at least some aspects of gun control.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to mark up Leahy’s legislation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) renewal of the federal assault weapons ban, a measure introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to increase federal grants for school safety, and Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) bill to expand background checks on private gun sales.
The mark up was delayed until this week, to give Schumer more time to work out a deal with Republicans, who say expanded background checks can’t include any semblance of a national registry to track gun purchases.
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