Harry Reid’s decision not to include an assault-weapons ban in the legislative package he will bring to the Senate floor has gun-control advocates pinning their hopes to a universal background check. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham this morning told Candy Crowley, however, that that bill is “going nowhere.”
“The current system is broken,” Graham said. “I hope most Americans understand that 80,000 people last year failed a background check and only 66 got prosecuted. Why in the world would you expand that system if you’re not enforcing the law that exists today to include private transfers? So I think that legislation is going nowhere.” He added, “Nothing we’re talking about would have prevented Newtown from happening, the guy did not fail a background check.”
Graham emphasized the importance of preventing those who are mentally ill from obtaining firearms and called for a “robust debate” on the measures that would do so.