John McCain blasted Republicans who have announced their intention to filibuster any gun-control legislation. “I don’t understand it, what are we afraid of?” he asked, arguing that the American people would profit from an open debate on the Senate floor.
Asked whether he will support a universal-background-check bill, McCain was equivocal. “It really depends on how they’re carried out, how long, what the depth of it is, this is another reason we need to go to the floor,” he told CBS’s Bob Schieffer.
Republican senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee announced their plan to filibuster the legislation in a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Marco Rubio and Jim Inhofe later signed the letter as well. I recently wrote about what they hope to gain from the filibuster and the strategy behind it.