Carper, Coons push for gun control measures

Democrats in the U.S. Senate, including the two from Delaware, are urging President Barack Obama to use his executive authority to institute stricter gun control measures that they hope will reduce gun violence.

U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons were among the two dozen senators who signed a Monday letter to the president.

"We stand with you determined to take action to reduce the terrible epidemic of gun violence plaguing this nation. All across the country, communities are ravaged and lives are senselessly cut short by gun violence," the senators wrote to Obama.

The senators cited the Oct. 1 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, where a gunman killed nine people, writing that "it is unthinkable that our country can continue to turn a blind eye to these tragedies."

"We will continue to make every effort to build support for and demand a vote on legislation to improve background checks, close loopholes, and shut down the illegal pipeline of guns," the senators wrote. "We will not give up the fight to improve our nation's gun laws to reflect the broad agreement of gun owners and non-gun owners who want Congress to act to halt gun violence.

"We ask you, concurrently, to investigate and pursue all available options under your executive authority to reduce gun violence."

The push for additional gun restrictions comes 10 days after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 132 people in Paris in coordinated terrorist attacks, leading to fear that similar attacks could happen in the U.S. And the calls also come as shootings and homicides near record levels in Wilmington, where gun violence has become a persistent presence in some neighborhoods.

Obama has urged Congress to expand background check requirements on gun purchases, but lawmakers in Washington have failed to support additional gun control measures. The president has actively explored what actions he can take on his own to prevent the sale of weapons to people with a criminal history.

"I've asked my team ... to scrub what kinds of authorities do we have to enforce the laws that we have in place more effectively to keep guns out of the hands of criminals," Obama said during a press conference after the Roseburg shootings. "Are there additional actions that we can take that might prevent even a handful of these tragic deaths from taking place? But as I said last night, this will not change until the politics change and the behavior of elected officials changes."

Separately this week, Coons and Carper joined fellow Democratic lawmakers in urging Republican congressional leaders to schedule votes on legislation that could prevent known or suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms or explosives. Between 2004 and 2014, individuals on the federal terrorist watchlist attempted to obtain firearm or explosive license at least 2,233 times, and were able to pass background checks in 91 percent of those cases, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

"In light of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, the need to pass such legislation is more imperative than ever," Democratic senators wrote to Republican leaders. "There is no reason why suspected terrorists who we consider too dangerous to board airplanes should be able to walk into any gun store in the United States and purchase a firearm or an explosive for the purpose of carrying out a terrorist act."

In Monday's letter, senators specifically urged Obama to address what they called a gun restriction loophole in current law. Only gun dealers "engaged in the business" of selling weapons are required to be licensed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and conduct background checks under federal law. That leaves dealers who sell guns at gun shows and over the Internet without proper regulation, and dangerous sales could be conducted without oversight, the senators say.

It's unclear how such a change would affect gun sales in Delaware, where lawmakers in 2013 expanded background check requirements to cover most private gun sales, with the exception of transfers between immediate family members, law enforcement officers and some others exempted by the law.

"No longer will our laws draw a meaningless distinction between dealers and non-dealers when it comes to requiring background checks," Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said after signing that law in May 2013.

Contact Jonathan Starkey at (302) 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.