WASHINGTON– Sen. Jeff Sessions said Sunday that he would consider compromise gun legislation being hammered out by moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine but has concerns about the constitutional rights of people placed on the federal terrorist watch list.
“The problem is, you have got indications on this list of people who might be involved in terrorism,” Sessions told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “And we need to keep a list of that, need to do the best we can to monitor those people, so that they don’t become an active terrorist person. But a lot of people may be wrongly on the list. In fact, I’m sure there are a lot of people on that list that shouldn’t be on it.”
Senate Republicans have expressed broad concerns about the quality and accuracy of using the federal terrorist watch list as a tool to bar suspected terrorists from buying guns. It comes as senators are preparing to vote Monday on a series of measures that would limit access to guns, in response to the Orlando terror attack.
But Sessions, one of the chamber’s most conservative Republicans, said he may be open to a compromise gun measure being put together by Collins, which would limit gun sales to a narrower grouping of people identified as possible terrorists.
“Susan is so careful about those things. And she’s worked really hard to figure out the differences in various lists and what kind of proof it takes to get on that list,” he said. “So, I would be willing to listen to what she said. I am open to the details, Dana. I agree that, somehow, some way, we should be able to make this work.”
The most recent attempts at passing gun legislation have failed to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster, but in the wake of the Orlando attack some lawmakers are believe that could change.
“There are a number of senators who always vote with the NRA who say well now they’re looking for a compromise,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer told CNN’s David Shortell on Sunday. Schumer added that he, too, was interested in working with Collins on her compromise legislation.
