It is “unlikely” that either measure will be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Republican, said on Tuesday. House Republicans have flatly condemned both pieces of legislation, arguing the measures would be both ineffective and infringe on law-abiding citizens’ rights. The House bill that was approved on Wednesday “is taking the fears and concerns of a nation over gun violence and perpetrating a fraud on them,” said Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. “The reality is nothing in this bill would have stopped Parkland, or stopped any of the other violence we have seen.” Gunmen at the center of a number of high-profile mass shootings passed background checks and legally purchased the firearms they used. But gun control activists have praised both background check measures as a critical first step in a broader drive to reduce gun violence. “America’s current background check system is like having two types of security lines at the airport: one for people who are willing to be screened, and one you can waltz right through carrying whatever you want,” said John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud the House for moving so quickly.” Once divided on the issue, House Democrats returned to the majority, promising meaningful action on gun control, with aid from advocacy groups backing candidates who made the issue central to their campaigns. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, spent around $100 million in the midterms last year to elect gun control supporters, according to Everytown. The group will continue its push this week with $400,000 in digital ads urging lawmakers to support the legislation as it tries to break through the Senate. One of the new freshman Democrats supported by Mr. Bloomberg, Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia, had a 17-year-old son, Jordan, killed by gun violence.<doc-sep>A gun store sales associate looks on as a customer tries out a semi-automatic pistol in Las Vegas, Nevada. The House passed a bipartisan bill to boost gun background checks on Wednesday, starting the most significant push Congress has taken to increase firearms regulations in years. The legislation, the most significant gun control plan Congress has passed in more than two decades, cleared the Democratic-held House in a 240-190 vote. Eight Republicans supported the measure, while two Democrats opposed it. Still, the bill likely will not get through the GOP-controlled Senate and past President Donald Trump's veto. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to take steps to address gun safety after Democrats gained control of the chamber in January for the first time in eight years. The bill approved Wednesday would require background checks for all firearms sales, including transactions on the internet and at gun shows. Another measure the House plans to pass this week would extend the background check review period to 10 days from three days. In a tweeted statement after the vote, Pelosi's political team said Democrats "put an end to the Republican obstruction and inaction on gun violence." Despite some GOP support for the proposals, many Republicans have decried the Democratic push to strengthen gun control laws. Trump has pledged to veto both plans. The White House argues the bills would put an unnecessary burden on gun owners. Public opinion has moved in favor of tighter gun laws in recent years after a string of high-profile mass shootings, such as the killing of 17 students and staff members at a Florida high school just over a year ago. When they took the majority, Democrats wanted to push for gun control measures with broad public support. In March 2018, 92 percent of Americans said they favor background checks for all gun sales, according to a Gallup survey. Following the shooting last year in Parkland, Florida, Trump told survivors of the massacre and family members of victims that he would be "very strong on background checks." Democrats accused him of hypocrisy after he promised to block the legislation that passed Wednesday. Democrats gained confidence in the issue last year after several candidates won swing House districts while making gun control a priority. Most notably, Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., won a race on the outskirts of Atlanta with gun control as her signature issue. Her 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012. — The Associated Press contributed to this report Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.<doc-sep>The House is slated to vote Wednesday on landmark legislation to require universal background checks for gun sales, a top priority for Democrats. It will mark the most significant gun control vote in years after the Senate failed in 2013 to pass similar bipartisan legislation to expand the federal background check system. ADVERTISEMENT It’s not the only day this week the House will take up legislation to address gun violence. House Democrats plan to follow Wednesday’s vote with another on Thursday for a bill to lengthen the review period for background checks, which is meant as a response to the 2015 shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. “We have been partaking in a grisly ritual. We have a mass shooting, we have a moment of silence, and then there has been inaction. This signifies the end of that,” said Rep. Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea ClarkDemocratic scramble complicates Biden's human infrastructure plan Child care advocates seek to lock down billion in new federal funding Pelosi says House will move immediately on COVID-19 relief MORE (D-Mass. ), vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus who helped lead a sit-in on the House floor after the 2016 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The universal background checks measure would require background checks to cover sales made at gun shows and widen the scope for internet transactions. Current law only mandates federally licensed firearms dealers to conduct background checks before making a gun sale. Both bills face stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and most Republicans in Congress. The universal background checks measure, authored by Reps. Mike Thompson Charles (Mike) Michael ThompsonHouse Democrats introduce bill to close existing gun loopholes and prevent mass shootings Giffords group unveils gun violence memorial on National Mall Democrats urge Biden to take executive action on assault-style firearms MORE (D-Calif.) and Pete King Peter (Pete) KingNewsmax anchor Greg Kelly to host New York radio show Top GOP lawmakers call for Swalwell to be removed from Intelligence Committee Republican Garbarino wins election to replace retiring Rep. Pete King MORE (R-N.Y.), is titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. But it’s not expected to attract more than a handful of House GOP votes beyond the five who have co-sponsored the bill: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick Brian K. FitzpatrickBipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduces bill to give inmates Medicaid access Police reform sees momentum ahead of George Floyd anniversary The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Senate path uncertain after House approves Jan. 6 panel MORE (Pa.), Brian Mast Brian Jeffrey MastMassie, Greene trash mask violation warnings from House sergeant at arms House rejects GOP effort to roll back chamber's mask mandate GOP plans to force vote on rolling back House floor mask mandate MORE (Fla.), Fred Upton Frederick (Fred) Stephen UptonWhy Republican politicians are sticking with Trump Progressives nearly tank House Democrats' Capitol security bill The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Senate path uncertain after House approves Jan. 6 panel MORE (Mich.), Chris Smith Christopher (Chris) Henry SmithThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Senate path uncertain after House approves Jan. 6 panel The Hill's Morning Report — Presented by Facebook — Biden delivers 100 million shots in 58 days, doses to neighbors The eight Republicans who voted to tighten background checks on guns MORE (N.J.) and King. ADVERTISEMENT Democrats’ decision to vote on the legislation in the first 100 days of the new Congress — and introduce it in only a few days last month — demonstrates the shift in politics surrounding gun control from as recently as a decade ago, when they last controlled the House. In 2007, when Democrats last took over the majority, Congress passed legislation to encourage more states to submit red-flag cases to the FBI. President George W. Bush signed the law, which came in response to the Virginia Tech shooting that same year. But the law did not restrict gun sales or ownership, and Democratic leaders at the time took pains not to promote legislation that did so. The caucus then featured more conservative-leaning Democrats, including many who were gun rights defenders, and gun reform was still thought to be a third-rail of politics that could threaten Democrats in red-leaning districts. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerDemocrats worry Jan. 6 probe could divert their agenda Omar says Facebook refusing to take down 'hate speech' ad Israel arms sale exposes Democratic fault lines MORE (D-Md.) said Tuesday that the politics of gun reform has changed drastically since Democrats last controlled the chamber. Not only has the number of Democrats resistant to gun control declined steeply, but a long string of high-profile mass shootings has shifted public opinion in favor of tougher laws. Those factors, he said, have freed Democratic leaders to move quickly on the background check bill this year. “The carnage that we’ve seen perpetrated by gun violence over the last decade has heightened the American people’s concerns,” Hoyer told reporters in the Capitol. “It was controversial within our own party, and we didn’t have much confidence that it would be able to pass,” he continued, referring to the years between 2007 and 2011, when Democrats last held the gavel. “And there are still differences within our party as to how far you want to go. But we think this piece of legislation [background checks] and the ‘Charleston loophole’ closing is something that the overwhelming majority of the American people will want us to support.” Case in point: Freshman Rep. Lucy McBath Lucia (Lucy) Kay McBathSunday shows preview: US hails Israel-Hamas cease-fire; 'vast differences' remain between Biden, GOP on infrastructure Lawmakers brace for battles with colleagues as redistricting kicks off On The Trail: Census data kicks off the biggest redistricting fight in American history MORE (D-Ga.) represents a suburban Atlanta district that President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE won narrowly in 2016. Yet she won what had long been a GOP-held seat while actively campaigning for gun safety measures. McBath became a gun control activist with Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action after her 17-year-old son was shot and killed following a dispute over loud music. This week’s votes, McBath said, are “reflective of our changing national conversation around gun violence.” And the conversation is also personal for multiple other current and former members of Congress. McBath and fellow Democratic freshman Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell Debbie Mucarsel-PowellStephanie Murphy won't run for Senate seat in Florida next year Hispanic Democrats slam four Republicans over Jan. 6 vote in new ads Colombia's protests are threat, test for US MORE (Fla.), whose father died in a shooting, both appeared at the weekly Democratic leadership press conference on Tuesday to promote background checks legislation. And former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head at a constituent event in 2011 and now heads an eponymous gun control advocacy group, also rallied supporters at a separate event outside the Capitol. “I am never going to forget the day that I received a phone call when I was 24 years old telling me that my father was shot and killed by a criminal with a gun. Unfortunately, thousands of Americans in this country now share the same story as mine,” Mucarsel-Powell said. But House Minority Whip Steve Scalise Stephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseGOP leaders face new calls to boot Greene Kinzinger calls for Greene to be removed from GOP conference after Holocaust remark Auschwitz Memorial calls Greene Holocaust comments a 'sad symptom of moral and intellectual decline' MORE (R-La. ), who was nearly killed in 2017 after a man targeting GOP lawmakers opened fire on a congressional baseball practice, is on the opposite side of the debate. He doesn’t think the legislation would have necessarily prevented recent mass shootings. The man who shot him, for example, had obtained his firearms legally. “If you look at the bill, it wouldn’t have stopped many of these mass shootings.<doc-sep>
McBath willing to work across the aisle for gun bill (CNN) — The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed significant gun control legislation for the first time in more than two decades, a move that Democrats hope will intensify a pressure campaign for a vote in the Senate. The universal background check bill, H.R. 8, requires background checks on all firearm sales in the country. Currently, only licensed gun dealers must perform background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a firearm. Most unlicensed sellers do not; H.R. 8 would make that illegal. There are exemptions to the law like “gifts to family members and transfers for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense,” according to the House Judiciary Committee website. The measure passed 240-190. Eight Republicans voted for the bill, and two Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Collin Peterson of Minnesota, voted against it. The bill will move to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass in the Republican-majority chamber as legislation often needs 60 or more votes to advance. The bill, sponsored by a bipartisan duo of Reps. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, and Peter King, a New York Republican, remains an outlier right now in the House since it has bipartisan support. Most of the legislation related to gun control has been sponsored by Democrats. Four other Republicans co-sponsored the bill: Brian Mast of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Chris Smith of New Jersey and Fred Upton of Michigan. King told CNN on Tuesday that he may get a few more Republican colleagues to vote for the measure, but “no more than a handful.” At a 25-year anniversary party for the gun control group the Brady Campaign on Tuesday evening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed confidence that the universal background checks bill would pass the House of Representatives. At the event, Pelosi also recalled her efforts with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the 1990s on gun control as “hard,” but a “triumph that saved millions of lives.” “Tomorrow we’re going to send him the background check legislation,” Pelosi said to her Senate colleague with a wide smile. Schumer predicted that the country is on the “precipice of great change” on the issue of gun safety. “We have a Democratic House that will not flinch. We have a Senate Democratic minority that will not flinch. Most of all, we have a public who is aroused and strong.” Democrats, including Pelosi, have made this a top policy priority in the new Congress, staging public hearings on the topic which had not been held for years in Congress. The legislation also has the backing of a multitude of outside groups, including the former congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, the Brady Campaign, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. “Today’s historic gun safety victory in Congress is a testament to courage,” Giffords said in a statement after the passage of the bill. “When the days were darkest, when it looked like the gun lobby’s money and influence would forever silence any debate in Washington about stronger gun laws, courage shone through.” Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who represents the district where the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting occurred last year, called the passage “a really incredible moment to be on the House floor as we passed the first piece of gun legislation in decades.” On Tuesday, King urged his Senate colleagues to consider the bill. “I would think that they should let it come to a vote,” he said, adding that the average American supports the universal background checks bill. “This is not going to affect more than probably less than 1% of the American people and the ones it will affect either suffer from mental illness or are criminals. So to me, it’s a phony issue being raised by some of the gun groups,” he said. King understands that public opinion is on his side on this issue. A recent Quinnipiac poll conducted in January found that 92% of Americans support requiring background checks for all gun buyers. Of that 92%, Republicans supported the idea of background checks 89% of the time and Democrats supported it 95%. Despite pressure from the House, Senate Republicans are unlikely to take up the legislation, according to a member of Senate leadership. Majority Whip John Thune – the second ranking Republican in the chamber – told CNN on Tuesday that it’s “unlikely” that the Senate will take up the bill for debate soon.