Bipartisan gun control talks between Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have ended without a deal, Politico reported Wednesday, marking a setback for Democrats’ goal of passing a universal background check bill.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) will instead file a background checks bill he proposed before the Coburn talks began that does not incorporate any of the input from Coburn (R-Okla.), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). There will be no co-sponsors when the legislation is introduced for Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup…
A Schumer aide said Coburn and the group never could agree on whether to require private sellers of guns keep sales records, as is required of gun dealers.
Having a conservative Republican sign on to the legislation would have provided cover to other Republicans to back the legislation. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) will continue to look for another conservative Republican to bring on board for a version of the bill they had been working on with Coburn.
*This post has been updated to reflect the fact that Sens. Kirk and Manchin are continuing to look for Republican support for the bill.
