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Sen. Coburn Votes to Start Debate on Gun Background Check Bill

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
U.S. Senate

UPDATE: Oklahoma's two U.S. Senators split over Thursday's vote to begin debate on a bipartisan gun control bill. Sen. Tom Coburn was one of 16 Republicans voting to debate the legislation. Sen. Jim Inhofe voted with other GOP members to block debate.

Coburn told a town hall recently in Oklahoma City he was interested in finding a way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, but was concerned about keeping any data from turning into a firearm registry.

ORIGINAL POST: The U.S. Senate is set to vote Thursday morning on whether to begin debate on a Democratic gun control bill that would expand background checks to virtually all gun sales.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the first of the amendments will be a compromise announced yesterday by a Republican and a Democratic senator, which expands background checks to gun show and online sales.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) calls that proposal "a good faith but unworkable plan. “He says the legislation focuses on "collecting records over protecting citizens."

While he has drawn criticism from Second Amendment activists for working to come to some compromise on gun legislation, Coburn has made it clear he does not support any record keeping program that could be used to create a gun registry.

Coburn said he looks forward to "the full and open debate the American people deserve."

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