But it didn't really matter. Even had there been a defector in its ranks, the NRA was likely to win on background checks, too. Senate Majority Leader Reid postponed a vote on the package until after the Senate's recess in the hopes that a compromise could be reached in the interim. There's no sign that a compromise — which would focus on assuaging Republican concerns that expended checks might lead to a national gun registry — is within reach.

So the NRA moves down the line. The newest target for the NRA is the generally popular effort to increase penalties for illegally trafficking firearms. Senate Bill 54 would expand regulations on "straw purchases," purchases made for resale to someone not eligible to own a weapon. While never a slam dunk (it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on an 11-7 vote, with Sen. Grassley of Iowa providing the sole Republican vote), it's generally been seen as a common-sense step.

For the NRA, it's still too much. The Hill reports:

The bill as written would penalize anyone who purchases a gun for someone prohibited from owning it or for someone intending to use it in a crime.



The NRA argues this language could penalize people unfairly.



If a person buys a gun and sells it to another person, who in turn sells it to yet another person, the bill’s language could be used to punish the initial buyer of the gun, the NRA says.

The gun lobby also wants to cut a measure that would see someone convicted of straw purchases surrendering any weapons and ammunition in their possession, though in most analagous situations — like the illegal sale of prescription drugs — confiscation would be the norm.

Grassley is already wavering.

“I voted for the trafficking bill in the Judiciary Committee, but it was far from a perfect piece of legislation,” Grassley said.“At the time, I explained that there were changes that needed to be made before I would support it on the floor.”

There will now be more time for any such changes. The Times reports that votes on the package likely won't happen until the week of the 15th — in part because Reid still hopes to reach a compromise on background checks. Maybe he can. The White House seems optimistic that the package will pass, and President Obama will stump for gun control reform today in Colorado.

But that week also gives the NRA more time to keep pulling the package to the right, to see what it can get across that 40-vote line. And to make sure that whatever's left on the other side for approval contains only provisions the group find palatable.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.