Dems not backing President Obama's toughest gun measures

Background checks are likely to pass -- but not much else, Hill insiders say

By Dan Friedman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON - Democrats are rallying behind President Obama's proposal for universal background checks on gun sales but even some top liberals are balking at other key safety provisions.

The president’s bid to ban military-style assault weapons is already losing steam in the Senate, Democratic aides said, even as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) prepares to formally offer the plan next week.

Top Senate aides said a proposal to ban high capacity ammunition magazines also faces long odds.

Mayor Bloomberg, a leading proponent of strengthening restrictions on firearms, conceded Thursday on “CBS This Morning” most of the sweeping package of proposals to reduce gun violence Obama announced a day earlier is unlikely to make it through Congress.

And House Republicans are hardly discussing gun legislation during a retreat in Williamsburg, Va., according to House aides, so the Senate will lead on the issue.

But Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is already maneuvering to shield his caucus from a politically tough vote on guns.

Reid decided to move Obama's comprehensive package piecemeal through the Senate, allowing Democrats up for reelection in 2014 to back more popular provision, such as the background check proposal, and oppose the other measures, which are seen as unpopular.

Many of the Democratic senators up for reelection next year in gun-friendly states reacted coolly to Obama's plan.

"Before passing new laws, we need a thoughtful debate that respects responsible, law-abiding gun owners in Montana instead of one-size-fits all directives from Washington," said Sen. Max Baucus.

Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska predicted "it will be hard for any" of Obama's legislative proposals to pass. "There are some of us who just fundamentally believe in a Second Amendment right.”

Even liberal Sen. Al Franken, eyeing a 2014 race in Minnesota, stopped short of endorsing an assault weapons ban.

Lawmakers view universal background checks as easier to pass because, they argue, they do not limit rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D—N.Y.) touted his bill to impose universal background checks in a statement — and then ignored other proposals.

Currently only licensed gun dealers must perform background checks, while other sellers — including vendors at gun shows — do not make such checks. Such sales account for 40 percent of gun purchases each year, the White House says.

That translates to roughly 4 million guns sold every year without background checks.

"The system is woefully incomplete," Vice President Biden said Thursday in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Biden compared a background check to swiping a credit card. "It's not an inconvenience," he said.

Democrats also believe they can advance measures to beef up mental health care, as well as a bill to make gun-trafficking illegal, which they say would cut down on straw purchases.

Both parties have also embraced vague plans to examine the role of video games on violence.

dfriedman@nydailynews.com

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