Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are urging President Obama to use executive power to unilaterally change the way background checks for gun purchases are handled.
They began their push 10 days ago and it has since been joined by Representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC-6th). The State reports that Clyburn’s bill is titled “The Background Check Completion Act.”
The efforts of Murphy, Blumenthal, and Clyburn rest on reinterpreting the FBI’s admission that a clerical error allowed Dylann Roof to pass a background check so as to suggest this error is really part of a larger “default proceed loophole.” They claim this “loophole” is what really allowed Roof to pass his check and they want background checks extended to prevent it from occurring again.
According to The Hill, Murphy and Blumenthal issued a joint release saying:
We shouldn’t give known criminals the benefit of the doubt when it comes to guns. If law enforcement needs more than three days to ensure they’re not giving weapons to dangerous people, Washington must allow them the time to do their jobs.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) responded by expressing his conviction that it was an FBI mistake, not a loophole. He added, “The facts undercut attempts to use the tragedy to enact unnecessary gun laws.”
To get around the Congressional impasse, Murphy and Blumenthal want Obama to use executive action.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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