Proposal backed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and others include closing background check loopholes and preventing unauthorized guns purchases

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Senate Democrats unveiled a set of gun control measures on Thursday in a new attempt to address the US’s problem with gun violence.

One week after nine people were shot and killed at Umpqua community college in Roseburg, Oregon, senators announced measures meant to improve the background check system and prevent people who are not allowed to buy guns from obtaining them illegally.

These efforts, however, are likely to fail in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, liberal icon Elizabeth Warren and red-state Democrat Claire McCaskill stood with other Democrats outside the Capitol building on Thursday morning at a press conference for the announcement.

Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) I am appalled by gun violence in our country and the mass shootings in our churches and colleges. #StopGunViolence pic.twitter.com/1ANjqOmWjB

Oregon senator Ron Wyden, who travelled to Roseburg from Washington DC after the shooting, said that the group’s proposals were ideas “most Americans can agree on”, emphasizing that the measures were not meant to infringe on gun owners’ constitutional right to bear arms.

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“Victims and their families deserve better than a Congress that just shrugs its shoulders,” Wyden said.

The new legislation builds on a failed proposal introduced in 2013 following the Newtown shooting.

Democrats hope the legislation can put an end to things such as straw purchasing – when someone buys a gun for a person who is not licensed to purchase it.

They are also trying to close background check loopholes, such as the one that allows a gun sale to go through without a check if that check takes more than 72 hours. The legislation would also stop convicted domestic abusers from purchasing firearms.

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton proposed a similar plan this week. Her proposal also calls for an end to the 72-hour loophole and a crackdown on illegal gun sales.

Senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, and Debbie Stabenow, of Michigan, outlined the Senate Democrats’ proposal in a letter to his colleagues on Wednesday.

“These principles will be a rallying point for a public that is eager for congressional action and will be the basis for future legislation that we will demand receive a vote,” the letter said.

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In a fiery speech following the Umpqua shooting, Barack Obama voiced his frustration with the legislative system blocking even mild gun control reform. He called for change from the electorate, media and lawmakers.

“It will require that the American people, individually, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or an independent, when you decide to vote for somebody, are making a determination as to whether this cause of continuing death for innocent people should be a relevant factor in your decision,” Obama said.

Obama is set to visit Roseburg on Friday and meet with families of victims there.