Report: Toomey in talks with Dems on background checks
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Report: Toomey in talks with Dems on background checks
WASHINGTON – Could Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey be a GOP bridge that helps secure a deal on background checks on guns?
His office on Friday confirmed that Toomey, a strong second amendment advocate, is in discussions on pending gun laws that have struggled to gain traction with Republicans and many pro-gun Democrats in the Senate.
“Sen. Toomey and his staff are talking to a lot of folks -- both in Pennsylvania and in the Capitol -- on the issue of guns in the hopes that we get to an approach that works,” a Toomey spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail.
There has been no agreement, though, as of Friday afternoon, and it's not yet clear how close any potential deal might be.
Earlier, Politico reported that Sen. Joe Manchin, (D., W.Va.) had reached out to Toomey to try to find a GOP partner on a background check bill that has faltered in the face of opposition. The two have exchanged draft proposals since talks began Wednesday, Politico reported.
UPDATED: Shortly after that news broke, Philadelphia Mayor Nutter and former Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell announced that they, along with CeaseFirePA, will lead a gathering outside of Toomey's Philadelphia office Tuesday to call on him to "support common sense gun legislation ... especially the expansion of the background check system."
Shira Goodman, CeaseFirePA's executive director, said the event was in the works for about a week. She has met with Toomey and remained in contact with his office, monitoring the senator's stand. He has not embraced background checks, but also hasn't ruled them out. He has not made any public comments on pending gun laws since a statement in January generally expressing openness to some reforms, without endorsing any specifics.
"(He's) certainly not a no, but we didn’t know if we had a yes," Goodman said. "I think we’re getting to a moment where we want to know where he stands – what’s he going to do."
Gun control advocates believe they need a credible conservative voice, preferably one from a state with a strong gun culture, to sign on to a background check bill in order to rally enough support and overcome fears – stoked by the NRA -- that broader checks will be a step towards a national gun registry or allow for the seizure of firearms. An endorsement from a gun-rights Republican could provide critical momentum for President Obama’s last, best hope for significant legislation on firearms.
Toomey would fit the bill. He has a strong record on the second amendment: he was endorsed by the NRA when he ran for senate in 2010, and the group’s lobbying arms features one of his speeches on its Web site.
But he also has signaled that he might be open to some new gun laws following the school shooting in Newtown. In January, after President Obama rolled out his package of proposals on guns, Toomey issued a statement saying, “Second Amendment rights are important to many Pennsylvanians and must be protected, but there may be areas of agreement with the White House that can be addressed to improve public safety.”
In a meeting with Toomey and contact with his staff, Goodman was under the impression that he would consider the idea of expanding background checks, though he was unlikely to support a so-called assault weapons ban or limits on high-capacity magazines, she told the Inquirer Friday. Other gun-control advocates who have met with Toomey made similar comments in January.
Reports about his talks with Manchin have "given us reason to be optimistic," Goodman said. In a best-case scenario, she hopes Toomey "becomes the trigger point to get this done."
The rally will go forward either way, Goodman said, to either show Toomey the public backing for new gun laws, or to thank him if he announces his support.
"We want to make sure that he is hearing from Pennsyvlanians," she said.
If Toomey was to sign on to a background check bill, it would also give Democrats hope of winning over House Republicans in the Philadelphia suburbs -- the likes of Mike Fitzpatrick, in Bucks, and Pat Meehan, in Delaware County -- who represent moderate districts where new gun laws might be more politically palatable, the Washington Post reported.
"Commonsence" my arse. That FRAUD RENDELL and "Ceasefire", which is nothing more than a hate based racist group, need to focus more on the failing economy and less on restricting law abiding citizens Constitutional rights.
Their "commonsense" is a cloaked attack on the Bill of Rights.
BTW, Lanza didn't need a background check, he killed the proper LEGAL owner of the weapons he used....
— Professor1982
i wish we had more centrist, bi-partisan senators like mr toomey- If he wants a 2nd term he better no flip flop on this issue and cave into the Dems.— Taxpaying Voter
- Liberal’s “commonsence” is nothing more than a VEILED IGNORANT ATTACK on the BILL OF RIGHTS!!!
Don’t be fooled America!!!
Governor Ed Rendell (D) and the “CeasefirePA” radical left wing organization are devoid of any credibility. Background check for Adam Lanza??? He killed the lawful owner of the weapons (who passed a background check) and then went on his spree.
Far too many experts agree that additional gun control laws, much like Prohibition, fail to address the underlying issues surrounding situations like that of Aurora, CO and Sandy Hook, CT and actually only serve to encourage criminals to take more aggressive actions against an unarmed society.
All we need to do is look at failed state of Mexico, which has some of the most strict gun laws, as proof that the 2nd Amendment actually facilitates and protects a strong middle class. In Mexico corrupt politicians and criminal cartels are the ONLY entities that posses weapons exposing the middle class to outright warfare on its doorstep.
Even Harvard’s gun study determined among other things that “Nations with stringent anti-gun laws generally have substantially higher murder rates than those that do not. The study found that the nine European nations with the lowest rates of gun ownership (5,000 or fewer guns per 100,000 population) have a combined murder rate three times higher than that of the nine nations with the highest rates of gun ownership (at least 15,000 guns per 100,000 population).”(1)
Further, in the case of Sandy Hook, as it was a “Gun Free School Zone” effectively BANNING ALL WEAPONS in the first place, radical gun measures of the radical left would only create more “would be” victims similar to those in Sandy Hook.
(1) http://theacru.org/acru/harvard_study_gun_control_is_counterproductive/
— Professor1982 - The hipocrisy shows when Rendell, "Cease-Fire" et al present themselves at Toomey's office in a manner similar to that of a lynch mob. Then they as for "common sense"? It's like the Huns asking for peace talks.— DonQ
- Toomey's no dummy; he's an astute politico who indeed knows that '16 will be far different than '10 in turnout & demographics. He's appropriately doing the Nixon, moving to the center to appeal to an electorate that will be much the same as '12, and one that hasn't swung for the GOP since 1988.......coattail management at work.— Northcountry
Jonathan Tamari is the Inquirer’s correspondent in Washington, where he follows the Philadelphia area’s interests and representatives. Tamari comes to D.C. after two years as a beat writer reporting on the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL (where, a political source once told him, there are at least rules against hitting below the knees). He previously wrote about politics and government from Trenton, reporting on the characters and color of New Jersey state government.Jersey born and bred, Tamari now lives in the capital city, where he is looking for stories, places to run, soccer bars and good meals.
Reach him at jtamari@phillynews.com.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanTamari.
