On May 24, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee took up a proposal “to deny transfers of firearms to persons known or suspected to be engaged in conduct related to terrorism.” In a party-line vote, Republicans defeated the plan 29- 17.

Nineteen days later, a man whom the FBI had investigated as a possible terrorist went into an Orlando nightclub and, claiming solidarity with the Islamic State, shot 49 people to death with weapons he bought legally.

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And Monday night, a week after the Orlando killings, this tragedy repeated itself as farce. Republicans defeated Democratic legislation to keep those on terrorism watch lists from getting guns. Democrats defeated a fig-leaf measure proposed by Republicans that would have made it virtually impossible to block those on the watch lists from getting guns. For kicks, lawmakers also voted down dueling Republican and Democratic proposals on gun-purchase background checks.

Now the issue goes to the campaign trail, where presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said that the solution to the Orlando slayings was to have more clubgoers carrying concealed guns so they could have shot “this son of a bitch.” After even the National Rifle Association said it didn’t approve of people carrying guns where alcohol is served, Trump walked back his remarks.

http://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/columns/guest_columns/dana-milbank-washington-post-second-amendment-absolutism-beats-out-our/article_73fc187c-125c-52ed-8302-72dbe2beb18f.html