GOP senator urges compromise in gun fight
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) joined an hours-long talkathon led by Democrats on the Senate floor Wednesday, urging his colleagues to compromise on gun control.
“There’s an obvious opportunity here, guys, to work together and find the solution,” he said. “What I’m suggesting is let’s get to work here.”
{mosads}Toomey’s comments come after Democrats took over the Senate floor late Wednesday morning. They are pledging to keep talking until lawmakers get an agreement on gun control, including over allowing suspected terrorists to buy guns.
Toomey on Wednesday walked a fine line between the Senate’s competing proposals, criticizing both of them.
Republicans are supporting a measure from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would have allowed the attorney general to delay suspected terrorists from getting a gun for up to 72 hours as they try to get a court to approve blocking the sale of the firearm.
Though Toomey supported the GOP proposal late last year, he said Wednesday that it likely doesn’t give the attorney general the kind of leeway they would need in terrorism cases.
But the Pennsylvania senator isn’t supporting Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) proposal to block individuals on the terrorist watchlist from buying guns or explosives.
Republicans argue the move is too broad and would negatively impact Americans not tied to terrorism. Toomey, on Wednesday, called it “badly flawed.”
Toomey’s call for compromise comes after Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty, who wants to unseat Toomey, publicly pressured him during a press conference Tuesday to back Feinstein’s measure. Democratic have latched onto the gun fight as they try to win back the majority in the upper chamber.
“When we send people to the Senate to represent us, we need tough leadership to go after Islamic terror, and we need principled leadership right here at home to keep us safe,” she said, adding that Toomey had failed a “test of leadership.”
Toomey’s campaign defended his Senate record Tuesday, arguing that he’s lead the Senate on “gun safety.”
“What would Katie McGinty do to fight terrorism?: 1) give billions to Iran; 2) bring terrorists from Guantanamo prison to America; and 3) allow dangerous sanctuary cities. Plain and simple: the McGinty plan would encourage more terrorism,” Ted Kwong, a spokesman for Toomey’s campaign said Tuesday.
Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) spearheaded a 2013 proposal to strengthen gun background checks.
Republicans are defending 24 Senate seats in November, including a handful in states previously won by President Obama. Democrats need to net four seats to win back the upper chamber if they also retain the White House, and five to win it back outright.
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