WH denounces 'coward' senators for rejecting gun control bills

As the United States Senate failed to pass gun control legislations taken up in the wake of the Orlando nightclub massacre, the White House denounced the ‘cowardice’ of senators on Tuesday.

Four bills -- two proposed by Republicans and two by Democrats -- went down to defeat in the US Senate late on Monday.

‘What we saw last night on the floor of the United States Senate was a shameful display of cowardice,’ White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a television interview.

‘They were commonsense bills that were put forward that should have drawn strong bipartisan support that would prevent individuals who are currently suspected of having ties to terrorism from being able to buy a gun,’ he said.

The Democrat-backed bills sought to bar people on the Federal Bureau of Investigation watchlists or no-fly lists from buying firearms and to strengthen criminal and mental health background checks for those seeking to purchase firearms at gun shows and on the Internet.

While the Republican measures proposed a 72-hour waiting period for those on FBI watchlists seeking to buy weapons, so that the government has time to seek a court order to block the sale if need be; and to improve the background check system.

Democrats rejected both GOP measures.

Guns are responsible for some 90 deaths each day in the US, but serious legislative efforts to enact gun control are only raised after particularly horrific shootings.

President Barack Obama has spoken out after each tragic shooting, exhorting Congress to enact stronger gun control laws to no avail.

Obama made a similar plea last week while meeting with the families of the Orlando shooting victims.

So far, however, the Republican-led US legislature has failed to pass any new gun control laws, with opponents saying that to do so would infringe on the constitutional rights of gun owners.

IMAGE: Supporters hold up a 'Disarm Hate' sign to block protesters during a vigil for the Pulse night club victims following last week's shooting in Orlando, Florida. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/ Reuters