List of Republican, Democratic defections on Senate gun legislation

The following is a list of Republican lawmakers who voted to advance the gun legislation in the Senate Thursday:

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson 

Arizona Sen. John McCain

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker 

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr 

North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham 

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey 

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller

The following is a list of Democratic lawmakers who voted against advancing gun legislation:

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich 

Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor

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List of Republican, Democratic defections on Senate gun legislation

The following is a list of Republican lawmakers who voted to advance the gun legislation in the Senate Thursday:

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson 

Arizona Sen. John McCain

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker 

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr 

North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham 

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey 

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller

The following is a list of Democratic lawmakers who voted against advancing gun legislation:

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich 

Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor

View the original article here

Guide to gun legislation on Capitol Hill Tuesday

Sandy Hook families come to the Capitol today to press senators for tougher gun measures.

We expect them to stick to the Senate side and meet with senators who oppose enhanced gun laws or moderate Democrats who may have trouble voting for a gun bill.

There is a conference call this afternoon with those families.

From a parliamentary standpoint, the Senate is NOT on the gun bill. That's because they are stuck on the "motion to proceed" to the actual bill, due to a threatened GOP filibuster. In other words, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would need to cobble together 60 votes just to formally LAUNCH the debate and get cloture, and then another 60 votes to end debate.

So, we'll hear a lot about guns on the floor today. But they are technically not on the bill.

Reid has not yet filed cloture on the motion to proceed. He could do that today. And even so, that typically takes TWO DAYS from when he has filed cloture just to get to that vote. So that means Thursday is most likely for the first big procedural vote on guns.

That said, Democrats will probably pick up a couple of their moderate-to-conservative Democrats who face tough re-elections next year -- but lose a few, too. That means they need some Republicans to vote for cloture.

Don't forget: President Obama is having dinner Wednesday night with 11 Republicans senators. If a big vote is pending Thursday, he could really use that meal to apply pressure to vote for cloture Thursday.

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What's in the bill? Guide to Senate gun legislation

The following is a breakdown of what's actually in the firearms bill which cleared a key Senate test vote Thursday morning.

The package, as currently formulated, is made up of three provisions that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last month:

1) Expanding background checks

2) Cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing

3) Reauthorizing and expanding a Justice Department grant program for school safety

Most of the focus has been on the background check portion, by far the most sweeping and contentious of the three. Right now the bill as currently written contains a background-check plan authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. But in light of the Manchin-Toomey compromise rolled out yesterday, if the Senate advances the legislation Thursday, Sen. Harry Reid has said one of the first amendments to the bill will be to swap the Manchin-Toomey framework in for the Schumer placeholder. That framework would apply background checks for gun show and Internet sales but exempt some other personal transactions.

The Manchin-Toomey proposal, though, is causing other concerns about the process -- the fact that the underlying bill which senators are considering is expected to change substantively from its current form. Many senators opposing Thursday's vote have cited the fact they don't even know what it is they are voting on.

AMENDMENTS

With the bill advancing, Reid said there will be a good deal of amendments that will likely take until next week to go through. Here are a couple amendments we know will be offered, in addition to the Manchin-Toomey substitute:

-- Assault weapons ban

-- Limit on high-capacity magazines

There are some other bipartisan bills percolating related to mental health that may come as amendments as well.

Opponents of the bill, such as Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Mike Lee, R-Utah; and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are also expected to offer amendments.

View the original article here

Guide to gun legislation on Capitol Hill Tuesday

Sandy Hook families come to the Capitol today to press senators for tougher gun measures.

We expect them to stick to the Senate side and meet with senators who oppose enhanced gun laws or moderate Democrats who may have trouble voting for a gun bill.

There is a conference call this afternoon with those families.

From a parliamentary standpoint, the Senate is NOT on the gun bill. That's because they are stuck on the "motion to proceed" to the actual bill, due to a threatened GOP filibuster. In other words, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would need to cobble together 60 votes just to formally LAUNCH the debate and get cloture, and then another 60 votes to end debate.

So, we'll hear a lot about guns on the floor today. But they are technically not on the bill.

Reid has not yet filed cloture on the motion to proceed. He could do that today. And even so, that typically takes TWO DAYS from when he has filed cloture just to get to that vote. So that means Thursday is most likely for the first big procedural vote on guns.

That said, Democrats will probably pick up a couple of their moderate-to-conservative Democrats who face tough re-elections next year -- but lose a few, too. That means they need some Republicans to vote for cloture.

Don't forget: President Obama is having dinner Wednesday night with 11 Republicans senators. If a big vote is pending Thursday, he could really use that meal to apply pressure to vote for cloture Thursday.

View the original article here