The plan could come up for a vote as soon as Tuesday. Collins backs gun checks

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she will support a proposal to expand background checks for commercial gun sales, according to a report Saturday.

The Manchin-Toomey proposal is “a responsible breakthrough from two people who have far better NRA rankings than I have,” Collins told NBC News.


Collins joins Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois in supporting the measure, which would require background checks for online and gun-show gun sales. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) reached a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last week and said Kirk would support it.

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The National Rifle Association said last week that it opposed the measure and that it will consider “votes on all anti-gun amendments or proposals” in its evaluations of political candidates.

The plan could come up for a vote as soon as Tuesday as the Democrat-controlled Senate begins debate on a gun control bill spurred by the shooting that killed 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Conn., in December. Collins met with victims’ families in Washington last week while she considered the Manchin-Toomey plan.

A spokesperson for Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment from POLITICO.