Durbin: Senate must revisit gun debate

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that it’s time for the Senate to revisit the debate on gun control measures.

“Gun violence continues to plague us,” Durbin said Tuesday. “It’s time for us to revisit this issue. … We owe it to the people of this country to continue the debate.”

{mosads}His remarks came after a violent weekend in Chicago where 14 people were killed and more than 80 were wounded by gun violence.

Durbin said the Senate should once again consider a measure that would force background checks on all gun sales. Last year, the Senate tried to pass a measure from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would have done just that, but it failed to overcome a filibuster.

“We all could have done more,” Durbin said. “Convicted felons and mentally ill people should not be able to purchase weapons.”

The Senate is currently considering a sportsmen’s bill that would increase access to hunting, fishing and shooting on federal lands. Some Democrats opposed advancing the legislation in a procedural vote on Monday because the measure didn’t include gun control reforms, but Durbin voted for it.