Jeers: Gun lobby owns Risch, Crapo

In his weekly Cheers & Jeers column, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune gives JEERS …  to U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, both R-Idaho:

With each passing day, it becomes more apparent how ardently they follow the gun lobby line.

Earlier this week, Crapo and Risch joined the bulk of their Republican colleagues - with the exception of Illinois’ Mark Kirk and New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte - in dooming to defeat measures sponsored by Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Chris Murphy of Connecticut in response to the June 12 slaughter at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.

And what were Feinstein and Murphy proposing?

A ban on military assault rifles?

Hardly.

Limiting magazine capacities?

Nothing so ambitious.

Murphy simply would close the loophole that allows people to purchase guns without a background check through some gun show sales and over the internet.

And Feinstein’s modest plan sought to give the Department of Justice authority to deny firearms sales to people deemed to be suspected terrorists. About 420,000 people are on the terrorism watch list - and about 2 percent of those are U.S. citizens. Complete Cheers & Jeers column here.