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Sen. Collins Set to Unveil Her Gun Regulation Proposal

In the aftermath of the Orlando mass shooting, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on four gun bills this evening. All four are expected to fail amid partisan divisions But Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is working on a fifth bill designed to keep suspected terrorists from obtaining firearms that she hopes will win bipartisan support.

Two of the four proposals expected to hit the floor tonight are identical to measures that were defeated last year. The initial votes followed the shooting attacks in San Bernardino, where 14 people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured. Now, just over a week after the shooting massacre inside an Orlando night club, the Senate is taking up the proposals once more.

“I want to get something done,” says Collins.

Speaking NPR’s Weekend Edition on Sunday Collins says she believes she has a compromise bill that can earn the support of Republicans and Democrats. She says her idea is simple.

“It says that if you are too dangerous to board an airplane, or if you are so dangerous that you’re selected all the time for extra screening before you can board an airplane, you’re too dangerous to buy a gun,” she says.

Collins’ proposal essentially combines the no-fly list, and what’s known as the selectee list, and prevents those people from buying a gun. That’s about 2,500 Americans among a total of 109,000 suspected terrorists. The no-fly list is created and maintained by the federal government. People on the list are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the country. The selectee list is made up of people who are targeted for additional security screening at airports. Both lists were created after the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Collins’ bill is designed to bridge the partisan divide between two leading proposals. One, by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, would alert law enforcement whenever somebody on the terrorist watch list attempts to buy a gun from a licensed dealer. The U.S. Attorney General could then block the sale for up to three days while a court reviews the transaction and the government attempts to show probable cause. A second bill, backed by President Obama, would give the Justice Department the ability to block a gun sale if someone has been on the federal terrorist watch list within the past five years.

Debate has raged over the two proposals. Democrats think Cornyn’s bill is too weak. Republicans believe the Obama-backed bill would give the government too much power to block gun purchases by law abiding citizens.

“They don’t want to face the embarrassment of their failure in this terrorist area and they want to cover their butts and not talk about,” says Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Association on the CBS Sunday program Face the Nation. “You can’t save the country with politics.”

LaPierre says the Democratic bill distracts from the government’s failure to prevent the Orlando attack. The NRA is determined to defeat the bill. Meanwhile, Democrats say they won’t support Cornyn’s proposal. So, once again, a stalemate looms.

Collins says she’s hoping her proposal is considered. She’s acknowledged that it wouldn’t have immediately prevented the accused Orlando gunman from buying a weapon, But she believes the FBI, which had previously monitored Omar Mateen, would have ultimately intervened.

The question now is whether Collins can convince Senate leaders to bring her proposal to the floor for a vote. She will unveil the proposal tomorrow.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.