Senate Dems Bring Down Concealed-Weapons Measure

Senate Democrats today narrowly defeated a measure that would have let concealed weapons be transported across state lines, the Hill reports. The amendment, which required 60 votes to pass according to a prior, bipartisan agreement, went down 58-39. Sen. Charles Schumer and majority whip Dick Durbin fought hard to drum up opposition until the last minute. “Lives have been saved,” Schumer said.

“If this had passed, it would have created havoc for law enforcement and endangered the safety of millions,” Schumer noted. Twenty Democrats, including majority leader Harry Reid, supported the amendment by Republican Sen. John Thune. The defeat was an unusual setback for the NRA, which had called it “a giant step forward in the protection of our basic right to self-defense.” (More concealed weapon stories.)