The 15 GOP Senators Who Caved and Voted ‘Yes’ on Gun Control

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) talks to reporters after the Senate passed the Bip
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
AWR Hawkins

Fifteen Republican senators caved Thursday night and voted “yes” on the gun control package Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) worked with Democrats to create.

Cornyn’s gun control bill expands background checks for some gun buyers, uses taxpayer money to incentivize states to enact red flag laws, and broadens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) prohibited purchasers list by using domestic violence statutes to cover dating relationships.

It also heightens punishments for gun crimes that had nothing to do with Uvalde, Buffalo, Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, or Sandy Hook.

CBS News reported that the legislation passed Thursday night by a vote of 65-33.

Here are the 15 Republican Senators who caved and voted for the new gun controls:

  1. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
  2. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
  3. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
  4. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
  5. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
  6. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
  7. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
  8. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
  9. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
  10. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
  11. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
  12. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
  13. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
  14. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
  15. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)

The gun control was opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America.

The NRA said, “This legislation can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, & use fed dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state & local politicians.”

As the bill was being negotiated, former President Donald Trump warned that Cornyn was helping “radical left Democrats” secure gun control.

Breitbart News spoke with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) Thursday about the Supreme Court’s pro-Second Amendment decision. She contrasted the good news from the court with the bad news from the Senate. “All this is taking place in the Supreme Court while we have Republicans in the Senate who are caving on Second Amendment rights,” she observed.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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