Senate Dems to force votes on gun control

Senate Democrats are planning to offer a series of gun control amendments during the Thursday vote-a-rama on the chamber’s highly anticipated budget bill.

A group, led by the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), announced Thursday that they would be forcing votes on measures such as universal background checks, just one day after 14 people died in a massacre in Southern California.

{mosads}“Enough is enough. Senate Democrats are not waiting one more day. Today’s the day we act,” Schumer said at a briefing, flanked by a half-dozen other vocal gun control advocates.

“The entire country will know where every member of the Senate stands on tightening background checks, on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and on strengthening and improving mental health in this country,” he continued.

The amendments will be offered as part of the GOP reconciliation bill that intends to repeal major pieces of ObamaCare and defund Planned Parenthood. 

The special budget bill has been months in the making, giving Republicans their first chance to send an anti-ObamaCare bill to President Obama’s desk. 

Now, the Republican senators’ votes on the gun control amendment votes — as well as their positions on ObamaCare — will likely become fodder for the upcoming campaign season.

A vote-a-rama on the bill is expected to begin later Thursday.

Schumer said the Democrats’ amendments would aim to replace the ObamaCare provisions and “turn it into meaningful legislation that the president would actually sign.”

Before details from the San Bernardino shooting became clear Wednesday evening, Senate Democrats had planned to offer a gun control amendment to address a separate mass shooting last week at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic.

The scope of their efforts widened after a Democratic Caucus meeting in which gun violence took center stage.

The group of senators calling for tighter gun laws on Thursday included Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Democratic presidential candidate who has been criticized for not taking a strong enough stance on the issue.

“This nation is divided over gun legislation, that is a simple fact, that’s the reality,” Sanders said. “The good news is that there’s broad consensus … among people who agree on common-sense gun safety legislation.”