Can Republican Sen. Toomey help bring about gun law changes?

Gun control advocates are in talks with Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, hoping that he’ll again emerge as a lead Republican to build a bridge between the parties on gun law changes being debated after the Orlando mass shooting early Sunday.

Toomey could play a crucial role in steering GOP support toward a Democratic-led effort to close what some call the “terrorist loophole,” related to background checks and gun purchases. Three years ago, he co-sponsored a bill that would have expanded background checks on gun sales. That bill, which was introduced after the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, failed.

Toomey’s Democratic challenger in this year’s election, Katie McGinty, has criticized him for failing to restart the debate on the bill.

On Wednesday, several Democratic senators monopolized floor debate with a filibuster, saying there should be bipartisan compromise on changing gun laws. Toomey briefly weighed in, saying, “There’s an obvious opportunity here (for compromise). . . . We don’t want terrorists to be able to walk into a gun store and buy a gun.”

Later, Toomey’s office announced he’ll introduce on Thursday a bill aimed at blocking suspected terrorists from buying guns. Unlike other measures recently proposed, Toomey’s bill would require judicial review of any watch list created with the intent of denying suspected terrorists the right to buy a gun, his office says.

Toomey’s proposal would also create a court appeals process for people who were denied gun purchases because their names were on the suspected terrorist list.

Toomey said Wednesday that he had issues with similar legislation introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., that would bar suspected terrorists from buying guns. That measure, Toomey contends, doesn’t go far enough to provide for an appeal if a name appears on a watch list in error.

Specifically, Democrats – including senior Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and led by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy in the filibuster – called for a bill that would prevent suspected terrorists from buying explosives and guns. Currently, a person’s name appearing on one or more of several federal national security “watch lists” will not, on its own, disqualify him or her from buying a gun.

The debate came days after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history: 49 people were killed by Omar Mateen on Sunday inside a nightclub in Orlando. Republicans have largely called the massacre a terrorism issue, underscoring the fight against ISIS because of Mateen’s reported allegiance to the Islamic State. Democrats have also labeled the crime a terrorist attack but have said it also raises issues of unacceptable intolerance against the LGBT community and what they call lax gun laws.

The main group lobbying Toomey for support this week, Everytown for Gun Safety, wants Congress to give the FBI authority to block gun sales to suspected terrorists. In the case of Mateen in Orlando, he was questioned by FBI investigators at least twice, and his name was once on the FBI watch list. Authorities have said Mateen purchased the assault rifle he used inside the nightclub after his name was taken off the list.

Earlier Wednesday, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump signaled that he might support a new gun control law to stop sales to people whose names appear on terror watch lists or the “no-fly” list. Trump intends to discuss the issue with the National Rifle Association.

This story was originally published June 15, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Can Republican Sen. Toomey help bring about gun law changes?."