NBC: If senators gut background check law, NRA will not be mean to those who vote for it

Kasie Hunt reports:

Senators negotiating a bill mandating background checks for all gun buyers are privately expecting the National Rifle Association not to fight the measure'provided the legislation does not to require private gun sellers to maintain records of the checks, NBC News has learned.

If that requirement is met and key Republican negotiator Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma signs on, the powerful gun lobby has signaled to lawmakers that they would not actively oppose the bill'and not count votes in favor of it as part of its highly influential NRA lawmaker ratings'according to Senate aides familiar with the stalled negotiations.

Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who has been negotiating unsuccessfully with Coburn over the background-check legislation, are adamantly opposed to dropping the record-keeping provision. Without records, they say, there would be no way to ensure the checks were actually carried out since the federal government now destroys all records of background checks on licensed gun-dealer sales after 24 hours.

That provision, too, came about as a product of NRA lobbying. The organization opposes centralized record-keeping because it would create a gun registry that the organization and many other firearms owners say would eventually be used to confiscate their guns. But registration of fully automatic guns, silencers and gadget guns has been mandated for 78 years and has not been used to take away law-abiding citizens' guns. Dealers must now keep records of their gun sales for 20 years. The legislation's requirement that private sellers maintain records of their sales and associated background checks would not create a centralized registry.

Top NRA lobbyist Chris Cox denies there is a deal worked out, saying the organization does not take a stand on "hypotheticals" and will only announce its stand once the final background-check legislation is announced.

But this approach would seem like a perfect win-win for the NRA and its marionettes in the Senate. The gun industry mouthpiece can make itself look reasonable while giving senators a chance to pat themselves publicly on the back for supporting a law that practically every American except the Deliverance cohort supports.

But, of course, only if an element crucial for the law to be effective is removed.

Sen. X can return to the home district, meet with constituents eager to see reduced gun violence and say, "Look, I'm on your side, I voted for expanded background checks." (And I still have my NRA A+ rating.)

As Sen. Schumer and others have said all along, a background check on private sales that includes no record-keeping would be pointless. If eviscerating the bill is what it takes to get it passed, then passing it is a really bad joke.