Even before the shooting in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, there were more than a dozen different gun-control-related bills working their way through the United States Senate – none with much chance of being enacted into law before the 114th Congress adjourns.
According to the congressional monitoring website GovTrack, not one of the bills has more than a 5 percent chance of being signed by the president. And, only one has more than a 10 percent chance of making it out of committee.
The numerous pieces of legislation cover a broad range of proposals aimed at cracking down on gun violence, from strengthening background checks, to protecting victims of stalking and domestic violence, to authorizing government agencies to study gun deaths.
While change has virtually no chance of emanating from these individual bills, Democrats are expected to get a vote on gun control early next week.
Sunday morning’s carnage in Florida renewed interest in America’s ever-present debate on guns in the Congress’s upper chamber, even spurring two Republican senators to join in a nearly 15-hour Democratic filibuster over gun control.
Leading Senate Republicans this week announced they would allow votes on both Democrat- and Republican-sponsored amendments to an annual appropriations bill that would limit access to firearms. These proposals, which are expected to be considered Monday, include measures to create a universal background check system for all gun purchases and to ban the sale of firearms to suspected terrorists.
These are some other bills languishing in the Senate:
On increasing screening and closing background check loopholes:
Name: S. 2934: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2016
Introduced: 5/16/16
Sponsor: Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Intent: to ensure that people who are prohibited from purchasing guns are listed on the criminal background check system and to require a background check for all people who wish to purchase a firearm
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
Name: S. 2213: Background Check Completion Act of 2015
Introduced: 10/28/15
Sponsor: Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Intent: to prevent a licensed gun dealer from selling a firearm to a person who has not completed a background check
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
On preventing criminals and other possible attackers from obtaining weapons:
Name: S. 1977: Gun Violence Intervention Act of 2015
Introduced: 8/5/15
Sponsor: Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Intent: to provide family members and friends of a person who they believe may pose a significant risk to himself, herself or others tools to prevent gun violence, namely by allowing law enforcement to temporarily seize the person’s firearms if a warrant is present
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
Name: S. 2377: Defeat ISIS and Protect and Secure the United States of America Act of 2015
Introduced: 12/9/15
Sponsor: Harry Reid, D-Calif.
Intent: to grant the president greater power to degrade and ultimately destroy the Islamic State and to better protect the homeland by prohibiting known or suspected terrorists from purchasing a firearm, improving TSA technology and training law enforcement for terror and active shooter incidents
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
Name: S. 1520: Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act of 2015
Introduced: 6/4/15
Sponsor: Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Intent: to amend the Brady Bill to expand the definitions of “domestic partner” and “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” and prevent the sale or shipment of firearms to individuals who have been convicted of the misdemeanor crime of stalking
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
On beginning to study gun violence patterns:
Name: S. 1473: A bill to authorize the appropriation of funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for conducting and supporting research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention
Introduced: 6/2/15
Sponsor: Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Intent: to allocate money from the Federal budget to the CDC to conduct and support research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention
Status: held in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
On establishing stricter gun purchasing, ownership, and transfer laws:
Name: S. 2198: Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2015
Introduced: 10/22/15
Sponsor: Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Intent: to establish a grant program to encourage states to adopt stricter procedures on transferring and possessing firearms
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
Name: S. 1760: Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act of 2015
Introduced: 7/14/15
Sponsor: Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Intent: to crack down on gun trafficking by making it illegal to sell or receive firearms if the seller or receiver knows or has cause to believe that the sale is in violation of Federal, State or local law or will result in a violation of Federal, State or local law
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
Name: S. 1751: Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act
Introduced: 7/13/15
Sponsor: Christopher Murphy, D-Conn.
Intent: to authorize the attorney general to provide grants for states, local governments and Indian tribes for developing and implementing requirements for prospective handgun buyers to obtain licenses before their purchases
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
On addressing mental health:
Name: S. 1738: Safer Communities Act of 2015
Introduced: 7/9/15
Sponsor: Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Intent: to assess mental health treatment across the country, increase research on gun violence and prevent those who have been involuntarily committed to mental institutions from owning firearms
Status: held in the Judiciary Committee
John Tompkins: 202-383-6041.