Obama blames "shameful" politics for defeat of gun measure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Joined by relatives of the victims of gun violence, President Barack Obama on Wednesday angrily blamed politics for the failure of gun control legislation and urged voters to send a message at the ballot box that they want stronger gun laws.

"There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics," Obama said, flanked by relatives of the victims of recent mass shootings, some of whom wept during the president's comments.

"All in all this was a pretty shameful day for Washington but this effort is not over," he said.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Eric Beech)

View the original article here

North Dakota governor signs 'fetal pain' measure

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed into law a measure that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the disputed premise that at that point a fetus can feel pain.

The law signed Tuesday is the latest among a raft of measures passed in North Dakota this session that are meant to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

Abortion-rights advocates have called the laws blatantly unconstitutional and have promised a long legal fight that they say the state can't win.

Dalrymple last month signed a law that bans abortion as early as six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected, making North Dakota the most restrictive state in the nation in which to get the procedure.

Dalrymple also signed into law last month other measures that make the state the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome and require a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges. The measures also ban abortion based on genetic selection.

Abortion-rights activists say the signed measures, which take effect Aug. 1, are aimed at closing North Dakota's sole abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic in downtown Fargo.

At least 10 states have passed bills banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy on the premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage, but research is split on the theory.

North Dakota lawmakers also moved last month to seek a referendum measure defining life as starting at conception, essentially banning abortion in the state. The measure is likely to come before voters in November 2014.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has said it is committed to challenging the fetal heartbeat bill on behalf of the clinic.

The New York-based group is representing the clinic for free in a trail that started Tuesday over a 2011 law banning the widely accepted use of a medication that induces abortion. A judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of that law.

___

Follow James MacPherson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/macphersonja

View the original article here

Senate to take up gun-control measure this week

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate could vote as early as Wednesday on expanded background checks for gun buyers, but leading lawmakers said on Sunday it was uncertain whether the contentious proposal could gather enough support to pass.

The compromise legislation offered by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is seen as President Barack Obama's best hope for meaningful gun-control law in the wake of last year's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

"We expect the vote this week. Wednesday is probably the most likely day for the Manchin-Toomey alternative," said Toomey on CNN's "State of the Nation."

"It's an open question whether we have the votes. I think it's going to be close."

The legislation calls for expanded criminal background checks of gun buyers to be required for commercial sales, including those made at gun shows and online. However, sales by private persons would be exempt.

The background checks, intended to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from buying guns, have met stiff opposition from conservative Republicans who argue that the rule infringes on the constitutional right of law-abiding Americans to own guns.

Toomey and Manchin, both ardent defenders of gun rights, have dismissed this assertion.

"This bill, if you are a criminal and have been mentally adjudicated, you may not like it," said Manchin.

Background checks have the support of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who was the party's presidential candidate in the 2008 election.

"I am very favorably disposed towards that. Eighty percent of the American people want to see a better background checks procedure," McCain said on CNN.

But gun-control legislation generally does not have the support of conservative Republicans, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, considered in some circles as a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

Rubio said the focus of the legislation should be on curbing gun violence, not restricting gun ownership.

"Gun laws are highly ineffective in terms of protecting the right of law abiding citizens to possess weapons, which is a Second Amendment guarantee, (and) keeping the guns out of the hands of criminals," said Rubio on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I think this is a missed opportunity to have an honest and open conversation in this country about why these horrifying things are happening."

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; editing by Jackie Frank)

View the original article here