Schumer Predicts Smooth Senate Sailing For Gun Bill

On the day President Bush is set to receive a report on April’s deadly Virginia Tech shooting, Congress took steps to pass the first piece of federal gun control legislation in 13 years.

This morning, the House passed a bill that strengthens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to help prevent those with mental illnesses from purchasing guns.

It now heads to the Senate, where New York Democrat Charles Schumer will take the lead.

"All of the preliminary indications are positive," said Schumer of his discussions with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Republicans.

Schumer said the bill will be offered under unanimous consent, to ensure no potential "poison pill" amendments are added that may derail the effort.

"We will not try and add any other provisions," Schumer said. "If we get into the morass of amendments, we will have a tough time getting it done."

Schumer also said he has reached out to Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)-CQ, a staunch gun-rights advocate, to drum up bi-partisan support. A spokesman for Craig said the senator is still reviewing the House bill.

Still, the passage was a cause for celebration for the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was killed in a deadly rampage on a Long Island commuter train.

"I came to Congress in 1997 in the wake of my own personal tragedy," she said. "Today…we are one step closer to reducing the needless deaths from gun violence."

Schumer urged the White House to take the lead on promoting the bill, saying; "the final push should come from the president."

Although declining to give a timetable for the bill, Schumer said he believed the bill would reach the Senate floor "very soon."

- Daniel W. Reilly