On December 10, the House GOP shut down Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA-12) efforts to force a vote to add the no-fly list to background checks.
The gun control push was co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-5).
According to the Associated Press, the efforts were defeated on a “near party line vote of 242-173.” The one Republican who sided with Democrats for gun control was Rep. Peter King (R-NY-2).
Breitbart News previously reported that Pelosi and Thompson were trying to use a discharge petition to force a vote on gun control, but success would require 30 GOP House members to cross the aisle in support of gun control.
To that end, Pelosi literally tried to shame members of the House GOP into going her way. On Monday, Politico quoted her saying:
It is unconscionable that a suspected terrorist can enter a store and leave with the gun of his choice. We must close this terrorist gun loophole and act to strengthen our system of background checks. House Democrats will press forcefully for Congress to take up common-sense solutions to address the epidemic of gun violence in our country.
But the tactic failed, as outlets like the the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, and the Boston Globe all distanced themselves from the no-fly list, decrying it as imprecise, unconstitutional, and”embarrassing.” The Globe was especially harsh on Democratic efforts to add the no-fly list to background checks, describing those efforts as “cynical grandstanding.”
CNN previously reported that the San Bernardino attackers were not on “any list” pertaining to potential terrorists in the U.S. Therefore, even if the no-fly list were incorporated into background checks, it would not have prevented Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik from carrying out their attack.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.