FOXNews.com: GUN CHECKS DEAL? Senators Want Checks For Gun Shows, Web Sales

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GUN CHECKS DEAL? Senators Want Checks For Gun Shows, Web Sales Apr 10th 2013, 16:45 April 9, 2013: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. is followed by reporters as he walks from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, D-Nev., office on Capitol Hill in Washington.AP Two prominent senators are planning to announce a proposed compromise Wednesday on the thorny issue of gun background checks, in a bid to ease opposition ahead of a showdown vote in the Senate.  Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have been meeting for days on the issue and will outline their proposal late Wednesday morning. They are expected to pitch a plan to expand background checks for sales at gun shows and online but exempt other transactions like some face-to-face exchanges among family members. Currently, the checks are required only for sales handled through licensed gun dealers.  The proposal, by two lawmakers who are on the conservative end of their respective parties, is a last-ditch bid to sway wavering senators ahead of a Thursday test vote. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, in setting up the vote, acknowledged Tuesday he didn't yet know if it has enough support.  With more than a dozen Republicans threatening to filibuster, they could require a 60-vote threshold -- meaning Reid needs Republicans to cross over.  Manchin, after briefing Democrats Tuesday, said he and Toomey have been working on a "very good bill."  "People that are law-abiding gun owners fully want that right protected and I ensure them that it is protected," he said.  Manchin said the important thing is to make sure the background check system applies to those with records of criminal behavior and mental illness -- by expanding that system beyond just licensed dealers.  The White House has pointed to public polling showing broad support for a near-universal background check system. But some conservatives and other gun-rights advocates worried that the new system could be a burden to law-abiding gun owners, particularly when it comes to casual transactions among hunters and family members.  Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, warned Tuesday that the bill would be a "step toward gun registration" by requiring recordkeeping for private sales.  With a vote set up for Thursday, Grassley also complained that senators were "being asked to take a leap into the unknown" -- noting that, with the Manchin-Toomey proposal, the language on background checks could change in a matter of days.  Reid was proceeding to a vote as families of the victims of the Newtown school shooting -- which prompted calls for new gun control measures -- visited Capitol Hill offices this week to lobby for the legislation.  The gun legislation Reid wants the Senate to debate would extend the background check requirement to nearly all gun sales. Assuming the deal between Manchin and Toomey is completed, Reid would try to replace that language with their agreement once debate begins, a move that would require a vote.  The overall gun bill also tightens federal laws against illegal gun sales and slightly increases federal aid for school safety. A proposal to renew and expand the assault-weapons ban, along with a ban on high-capacity magazines, has been dropped from the main bill though it will likely get a vote as an amendment.  Some moderate Democrats were remaining noncommittal and could oppose opening the gun debate. They include Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, who are seeking re-election next year. There are 53 Senate Democrats and two independents who lean Democratic.  The National Rifle Association opposes Obama's effort and is urging its members -- it claims nearly 5 million -- to tell lawmakers of their opposition.  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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