WASHINGTON — Alaska's senators voted in line with the Republican Party Monday night as the U.S. Senate blocked four gun control amendments, both senators saying Alaskans have been loud and clear in favor of preserving individuals' access to firearms.
The Senate voted on four gun control amendments Monday, but none survived a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes to move forward, as lawmakers split largely along party lines.
Both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan said that gun control legislation — pushed by Democrats in the wake of the recent mass killing of 49 people in Orlando — would not have prevented that and other recent attacks. And they were both resolute that they will not entertain bans on any particular type of weapon, like the Sig Sauer MCX, an assault-style rifle used by the killer in Orlando. Murkowski called it a "slippery slope," and Sullivan said it would be constitutionally untenable and would not prevent mass shootings.
But the senators split in their personal views about the root of mass shootings, with Sullivan focused on the rise of the terrorist group ISIS and Murkowski pointing to mental illness.
"We're on the wrong focus after Orlando," Sullivan said. "This is a terrorism issue, not a gun control issue." Though questions remain about the Orlando shooter's motivation and associations, "I'm taking the terrorist by his word that he was inspired by ISIS," Sullivan said, noting the statements that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen made in his calls to 911.
Sullivan contended that if ISIS were less successful, fewer "terrorist-inspired" events would occur.
"We have to make serious progress in defeating this terrorist group and take away the lure of domestically inspired terrorists who think that they're joining a winning team," he said.
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Murkowski, meanwhile, said that it was clear that Mateen had a long history of erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and likely no real ties to ISIS.
Both lawmakers said that gun control advocates were using the recent gun-related tragedy to advance their goals, but said they were determined to prevent encroachment on Second Amendment rights.
The lawmakers heard concern about potential new gun control measures from Alaskans while they were back in the state over the weekend.
Sullivan said he was stopped by constituents several times at the airport, and also while out running.
"Every single Alaskan who weighed in with me on this issue said the same thing: 'Don't let the federal government infringe on my Second Amendment rights, period,'" Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he was emphatically opposed to the amendments offered by Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Diane Feinstein of California.
He cited a measure in the Murphy amendment that could open a person up to criminal charges for not reporting a lost or stolen weapon. And Feinstein's amendment "has procedures that would make it very difficult to purchase a weapon if you're on the so-called terrorist watch list," Sullivan said. But "that's a very broad list," he said, noting that close to 30,000 (of 319 million) Americans are on the watch list.
Hundreds of Americans are mistakenly placed on the terrorist watch list every year, Sullivan said. As for the prospect that those people could be kept from purchasing guns, "I'm not OK with that at all," he said.
This weekend, "I heard two things," Murkowski said. First, "'Protect my Second Amendment. I am a lawful, law-abiding gun owner.' And then I also hear people say, 'There must be a way to keep guns from those who are mentally unstable, those who are the criminals, those who are the terrorists.'"
Murkowski noted that there is no route for law enforcement officers to be notified if someone previously investigated for terrorist ties purchases weapons. Some sort of system like that "is being reviewed by a lot of folks right now," she said.
And both senators said they would be amenable to the Republican offer on the table: Shore up the existing background check system and provide better information on those suspected of having terrorist ties.
But compromise appears far off: Democrats have argued that the amendment offered by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn would not require an unworkable standard of legal review to stop a suspected terrorist from purchasing a gun.