May 12, 1999
Web posted at: 7:00 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 12) -- The U.S. Senate rejected Wednesday a move to close the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows some gun buyers to circumvent the criminal background checks required when purchasing guns from licensed dealers.

The Senate did approve, on a 53-45 vote, an alternative measure sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) that would make voluntary background checks at gun shows available. It would also give certain show vendors protection from gun-related civil lawsuits to encourage more sellers to become licensed dealers.

Democrats complain that only diplomats and some health insurance companies have such strong liability protection.

The 51-47 vote against the mandatory background checks at shows was a blow to Democrats and gun control advocates who thought the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, which took 15 lives, might loosen the grip of the gun lobby on the GOP-controlled Congress.

"We thought the gun show amendment was the easiest one to pass," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat.

The White House called the Senate's action "a serious mistake" and President Bill Clinton told donors at a Democratic fund-raiser Wednesday night that he was "disappointed" by the vote.

Democratic Sens. Max Cleland of Georgia and Max Baucus of Montana joined 49 Republicans in voting down the proposal while Republican Sens. John Chafee of Rhode Island, Mike DeWine and George Voinovich of Ohio, Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois, Dick Lugar of Indiana and John Warner of Virginia crossed party lines to support the move.

The measure was part of a package of gun-control measures Clinton unveiled in the wake of the Littleton shootings.

The powerful National Rifle Association last week denounced Clinton's proposals as "a litany of anti-gun schemes that would affect only the law-abiding."

But the bill's chief sponsor, New Jersey Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg, says the "gun-show loophole" gives "criminals, the mentally deranged and children easy access to firearms," adding that there is evidence that some of the weapons used by the two teen-agers in Littleton were purchased at a gun show.

But Craig rejects the idea that the right to buy a gun at a show without a background check is a loophole. "Private citizens who come to gun shows and engage in discussion with other private citizens and decide to exchange or sell their guns ... is that a loophole?" Craig asks.

He also says 98 percent of gun show vendors are licensed dealers who are required to perform the background check required in the 1993 Brady bill. But Craig does admit that the so-called private sales between non-dealers does accounted for roughly 40 percent of all sales at gun shows. Craig is a NRA board member.

Democrats are expected to offer more pieces of Clinton's omnibus anti-crime bill Thursday

The Clinton package contained a mix of old legislation, that has previously been introduced but not passed by Republican-led Congress, and some new ideas.

The three new proposals include background checks for those who buy explosives, raising the legal age for hand gun purchases to 21 and limiting hand gun purchases to one per person per month.

Among the resurrected initiatives are bans on the sale of all semi-automatic assault rifles to juveniles who have committed crimes and the importation of all large-capacity ammunition magazines.

Other ideas being pushed again include making child-safety gun locks mandatory and reinstating a three-day waiting period for the purchase of guns. A five-day waiting period was a high-profile feature of the Brady bill but Congress allowed it to lapse last year when subsequent legislation passed mandating instant background checks.

Republicans are confident they have the votes stop any of those measures as well, instead supporting a GOP-crafted bill which only contains a provision preventing anyone convicted of a violent felony as a juvenile from possessing a firearm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wednesday, May 12, 1999

• Treasury Secretary Rubin resigns
• Larry Summers 'prepared' to step into Rubin's shoes
• A glimpse of Rubin in the White House
• Transcript: Clinton announces Rubin resignation; Summers, Eizenstat nominations
• Transcript: Rubin announces resignation
• Transcript: Summers accepts Treasury secretary nomination
• Transcript: Eizenstat accepts deputy Treasury secretary nomination
• Senate refuses to close 'gun-show loophole'
• McCain on the march
• Burton continues to probe Clinton-Gore campaign finances
• Gingrich blasts administration, media and hollywood on Kosovo and Littleton
• Administration funds 100,000th cop
• Elizabeth Dole opposes concealed weapons law, backs mandatory safety locks
• Senate spotlights nuclear security lapses
• White House Web site back online
• FCC: Make sure emergency cell phone calls go through
• Congressional bargainers approve $11.6 billion for Kosovo, defense
• House GOP sets Social Security vote
• Democrats: Bush too busy for Texas
• Bill ending Internet gambling clears Senate subcommittee
• Bill Bradley says hard work pays off
• Constitutional amendment turns from possible victory to likely defeat
• Welfare to what? States track down those gone from the rolls
• State studies find varying work rates
• Former first lady calls for more Republican women leaders
• Willey says she knows who made alleged threats
• Mrs. Clinton to travel to Macedonia
• Former Florida House speaker, wife, guilty of tax evasion

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