Divided U.S. Senate votes down gun measures

WASHINGTON - The GOP-led Senate voted down proposals Monday to bar gun sales to terrorism suspects, notching another victory for gun rights advocates eight days after a gunman who had been on an FBI terrorism watch list killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

The votes marked the latest attempt by Democrats to break a congressional impasse on guns. The body blocked all four proposed gun-related amendments - two by Democrats and two by Republicans including Iowa's Chuck Grassley - to a spending bill.

The Senate similarly blocked new restrictions on gun sales after the 2012 massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., and the mass shooting of 14 people last December in San Bernardino, Calif.

Congress has not passed new gun restrictions since a 2007 expansion of the automatic background check database to include individuals with a history of mental illness and felons.

The competing measures Monday focused on two issues - background checks and terrorism watch lists.

Each needed at least 60 votes to advance, but with a few exceptions the vote fell along party lines and failed to meet that threshold.

A proposal from Grassley, the Iowa Republican, would have increased funding for the government to run background checks without expanding them.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., proposed expanding the background checks to include sales at gun shows and on the internet.

Another round of voting focused on sales of firearms to people on terrorism watch lists and no-fly lists.

A proposal by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, would have given investigators 72 hours to prove that someone on a terror watch or no-fly list has ties to terrorism. If not, the suspect would be allowed to purchase a gun.

In the most closely watched measure, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., proposed an amendment that would bar anyone on a terrorism watch list from purchasing a firearm.

Each side blamed the other for exploiting the Orlando shooting for political gain.

'No one wants terrorists to be able to buy guns or explosives. No one,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He said Senate Democrats were trying to 'craft the next 30-second campaign ad.”

Murphy staged a nearly 15-hour filibuster last week to force leaders to schedule the votes Monday, but he acknowledged the proposals might not pass.

'I have been so angry that this Congress has mustered absolutely no response to mass shooting after mass shooting, in city after city that is plagued by gun violence,” Murphy said before Monday's vote.

Polls show Americans favor some new restrictions on gun sales, but compromise in Congress remains elusive.

The Orlando shooting has given gun control a key focus in the presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has backed the Democratic effort.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who initially said armed patrons inside the Pulse nightclub could have tried to stop the killer in Orlando, said last week he would meet with the National Rifle Association to discuss options.

Before the vote, Feinstein argued that under her bill, authorities could have blocked Omar Mateen from buying the semi-automatic rifle and handgun he used in the Orlando attack because he previously was on the FBI's terrorism watch list.

The NRA and other opponents insisted that Feinstein's bill could prevent people who are erroneously listed as terrorism suspects from gaining access to firearms.

Many Republicans said they backed Cornyn's measure, which would have allowed federal officials to delay gun purchases for three days while they investigate terrorism suspects.

'Every single senator wants to deny terrorists access to guns they use to harm innocent civilians, but there's a right way to do things and a wrong way,” Cornyn said before the vote.

The House has shown less urgency in considering gun measures in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has suggested taking a slower approach to studying the best legislative response.

The Senate votes came the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a challenge to state laws banning the sale of rapid-fire assault weapons, a victory for gun control supporters.

Without comment or dissent, the justices dismissed appeals from gun rights advocates in Connecticut and New York who contended the state bans violated their Second Amendment rights.

The Washington Post and Reuters contributed to this report.