The Senate may have failed to pass gun control legislation but that’s not stopping GOP members in the House from trying. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has been discussing strategies with Speaker John Boehner on how to move a gun bill, according to The Hill.
“We are trying to improve the system to keep people who are barred under the law from owning firearms, from getting access to them. We don’t think the things that were proposed in the Senate do that. So we have not backed away from trying to figure out how to improve that, but we’ve made no decisions yet about what to do,” Goodlatte explained.
Goodlatte, serving his first year as the head of the Judiciary panel, pointed out that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System needs to be reauthorized before year’s end. The reauthorization could be the vehicle through which the GOP tackles the highly charged issue. Goodlatte, who has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), said earlier this year he wants to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) believes the House will deal with guns this year as well. But the top-ranking Democrat favors the background check bill crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). A House companion bill authored by Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) has 159 co-sponsors.
Pelosi said the high number of co-sponsors, only three of which are GOP lawmakers is “remarkable” because many Democrats in her caucus want a bill that includes an assault weapon ban.
It’s uncertain whether the House will actually take up a significant gun bill.
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