Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation are supporting new gun control efforts.
WASHINGTON -- A spate of mass shootings has led to a spike in efforts by congressional Democrats to enact new gun control legislation.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) joined 12 colleagues on Wednesday in proposing legislation to tighten background checks for gun purchasers. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) attended a separate press conference earlier this month as Senate Democrats offered several gun safety proposals. At the same time, three U.S. House members from New Jersey were among those asking the White House to use its own authority to limit criminals' access to firearms.
The Democratic efforts followed a series of mass shootings. In recent months, nine people were killed at an Oregon community college in October; five at two military locations in Chattanooga, Tenn. in July; and nine at a church in South Carolina in June.
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"First, it is important election issue," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. "Much of the country wants this so there is value in Democrats showing they favor control and in showing that Republicans in Congress don't. Second, it is simply about continuing to build pressure, create coalitions and be prepared for moment when a window does arrive."
The Senate bill presented Wednesday would not allow someone to buy a gun from a licensed dealer until a background check is completed. Currently, a dealer can go ahead with the transaction unless told otherwise within three business days. Among the gun buyers who obtained a weapon because the gun dealer was not notified within the allotted time: Dylann Roof, accused of killing nine worshippers in a black church in Charleston, S.C., in June.
"The tragic event in Charleston took place 64 days after the federal background check was run," said Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun rights lobby. "The problem was a lack of communication between federal and state agencies and not the amount of time that passed."
Dalseide said the senators "should focus on solving those problems instead of using a tragedy to attack the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens."
When Democrats controlled the Senate in 2013, they failed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster and advance legislation to also require background checks for sales at gun shows and over the Internet, despite the killing of 20 elementary school students just months earlier in Newtown, Conn. Republicans now control both houses of Congress, making it unlikely any gun legislation will come up for a vote.
Other proposals by Senate Democrats include requiring background checks for online and gun show purchases, and passing a federal law prohibiting someone from buying a gun and giving it someone who could not legally purchase the weapon.
Separately, U.S. Reps. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10th Dist.), Albio Sires (D-8th Dist.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.) joined three dozen of their House Democratic colleagues in asking President Obama's administration to look at what it can do without congressional approval "to address the epidemic of gun violence that continues to profoundly impact communities of color," including "stronger enforcement efforts directed at the relatively small number of dishonest dealers who sell the vast majority of firearms used in crimes."
They made their request in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.