WASHINGTON - Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Wednesday that he will break from his party and side with gun-control opponents today as they try to prevent a vote on a bill that would tighten gun access.
Barring last-minute changes to the legislation, Pryor said he’ll work with Republicans to derail the vote.
Four months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., when a gunman killed 26 students and educators, the Senate is poised to take action on a bill that would require a federal background check for most gun purchases.
The measure consists of a combination of bills that passed the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee in March on largely partisan votes.
Pryor said he would join a Republican-led filibuster and vote against “cloture” - a vote scheduled for today that would limit debate on the bill and clear the way for a final up-or-down vote. To end what is known as a “ filibuster,” 60 or more senators must vote for cloture.
“Currently, I am going to oppose cloture and support the filibuster,” Pryor said Wednesday.
Pryor said the the legislation would be difficult to implement and suggested that, if passed, the bill would violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”
“It’s too broad and it’s not workable,” said Pryor, who is up for re-election in 2014.
Pryor’s stand puts him at odds with most of his party. It is unclear how many Democrats will join Pryor in backing a filibuster, but Wednesday, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana suggested he also would support one, according to several news accounts.
President Barack Obama supports more stringent legislation that would ban assault-style weapons and limit the number of bullets allowed in ammunition clips. On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee sent an e-mail criticizing Republicans who want to block the gun-control vote, accusing them of denying Newtown families “the simple up-or-down vote they deserve.” The committee made no mention of Pryor.
The two-term senator, who has received a “C minus” rating from the National Rifle Association, has said he opposes the bill because Arkansans aren’t in favor of further gun restrictions.
In March, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group headed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, ran an ad campaign in Arkansas that pressed Pryor to vote for gun legislation that included expanded federal background checks.
In response, the Arkansas senator said: “I don’t take gun advice from the mayor of New York City. I listen to Arkansans.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said he was “increasingly confident” that Democrats have enough votes to break a Republican-led filibuster.
“America wants a vote,” he said in an interview. “Enough is enough. The American people want common-sense measures to stop gun violence.”
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, has not taken a position on the bill, but opposes the stalling tactics of a filibuster.
“It’s an important debate to have on preventing violence and also on protecting people’s Second Amendment rights,” she said.
Ayotte isn’t the only Republican who opposes the filibuster, an indication that the gun issue has created fissures within the GOP.
“The Republican caucus is split on this issue,” said Sen. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican.
Boozman was not one of 13 senators who sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid threatening a filibuster, but he said he supports using the tactic.
New gun laws, he said, are unnecessary.
“The vast majority of the people of Arkansas aren’t really interested in gun control,” he said. “Mark is looking to the people of Arkansas and trying to represent their views on this matter.”
On Wednesday, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia worked toward an agreement that would loosen the background-check requirements in the bill headed to the Senate floor.
Pryor said he did not know if he would support a filibuster of that effort, because the details of the compromise were still being worked out.
“This is a moving target - no pun intended,” he said.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 04/11/2013