establish a background check requirement for explosives, since we don t already have one. it s frank lautenberg s bill, but he s sick. today senator joe manchin of west virginia talked about amending his background check bill so it instead just says, okay, how about this, how about we just try to fix this. the fbi says 247 people on the terrorist watch list legally bought guns in the united states in 2010. how about we just take the baby step of fixing the terrorist watch list loophole if we can do nothing else. is at least that doable? those two measures would make discreet, simple, concrete changes in federal law. but you got to think that both of them are also a test. if we cannot agree that the sale of bomb making material is the kind of thing that might maybe need some rules attached to it, if we cannot agree that the terrorist watch list might be a good place to start in terms of
at that moment i can leave the airport, drive to a gun store, buy 50 pounds of black powder for use in making dozens of pipe bombs. i can also buy as many ar-15 assault rifles as i can afford with 100-round drum magazines all legally while i m on the no-fly list because explosive black powder isn t on the background check and being on the terrorist watch list still, today. today senator harry reid introduced a bill that would establish a background check requirement for explosives, since we don t already have one. it s frank lautenberg s bill, but he s sick. today senator joe manchin of west virginia talked about
airport, drive to a gun store, buy 50 pounds of black powder for use in making dozens of pipe bombs. i can also buy as many ar-15 assault rifles as i can afford with 100-round drum magazines all legally while i m on the no-fly list because explosive black powder isn t on the background check and being on the terrorist watch list. still, today. today senator harry reid introduced a bill that would establish a background check requirement for explosives, since we don t already have one. it s frank lautenberg s bill, but he s sick. today senator joe manchin of west virginia talked about amending his background check bill so it instead just says, okay, how about this, how about
universal background checks and start the process and see what is possible. obviously, there are differences and people have taken positions on these issues. not so much on the partisan basis, but more regional and geograph geographica l. i think it is important in light of what happened in connecticut with that horrific event. senator snowe, as you know, there have been poll after poll, background checks, 90% of people approve of having a federal background check requirement on all gun buyers, but, you know, as we point out on the national level, who knows what the congress will actually be able to accomplish if anything. the question is, and i was in newtown, you were in newtown, it really seemed like this moment was galvanizing for some kind of action, but do you think by now, what are we, in april, the president has missed the moment?
i m not in that room not having been elected to the united states senate, but i m told he is absolutely serious and in earnest and wants to reach a deal. and i think we will. but if we can get senator coburn, and i very much hope we can, it will only be because of one very small issue that in our view is a nonissue. that s the question of whether we should continue doing what we ve been doing for 40 years, which is when you go to a licensed dealer, you pass your background check. the dealer keeps a record of that purchase for 20 years so that if that gun ever ends up at a crime scene, law enforcement can trace it back to the point where it entered criminal hands. he doesn t want to extend that record keeping obligation. if you extend the background check requirement to adithsal sales. we just don t think it makes any sense and law enforcement really feels that they need those records to stop criminals and find criminals who have used guns in their crimes. they do, indeed. mark glaze,