The US Senate is set to begin discussing the bill, and the Washignton Post is reporting that a Republican led filibuster attempt might be thwarted:
The Senate will hold the first key procedural vote on a bill to curb gun violence Thursday as more than a half-dozen Republicans announced that they will join with Democrats to stop any attempt to block popular legislation drafted in response to a deadly shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.
The vote would formally start the the most wide-ranging and ambitious battle over gun control in 20 years.
In scheduling the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he doesn’t know if he has sufficient support to proceed to further debate on the bill. Regardless, “we’re going to vote on this anyway,” he said. “It may take a little time, but the American people deserve a vote.”
Senate procedural rules require Reid to secure at least 60 votes to move ahead with the legislation. Republican support to proceed doesn’t guarantee final passage of the bill — just that the Senate can actually begin formal debate. Getting at least 51 senators to support a final bill will prove difficult, as the politics of the issue are especially tricky for several Senate Democrats seeking reelection in 2014 in rural and Midwestern states.
If the vote to proceed is successful, the Senate is expected to spend the remainder of April debating and voting on a bill that would expand the gun background-check system, make gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time and provide $40 million in federal funding to help revamp school security programs. Senators of both parties would be permitted to introduce related amendments, including plans to establish an online portal for background checks, and to provide more federal funding for mental health programs assisting military veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reid has also promised votes on proposals to ban military-style assault weapons and to limit the size of ammunition clips, but supporters expect those amendments to fail.
