Mr. Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said he opposes a bipartisan gun-control bill put forth by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn that reinforces the requirement for federal agencies to report criminal offenses to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
“I support background checks. What I don’t support is federal bureaucrats’ inability or unwillingness to do their job,” he told The Times-Picayune. “We don’t need a law to try to get federal workers to do their jobs. We shouldn’t be asking government workers to ‘pretty please with sugar on top, can you do your job?’ “
The bill was introduced after Devin Kelley shot and killed 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November. Kelley was able to obtain multiple firearms legally after Holloman Air Force Base officials failed to enter his 2012 court-martial and conviction on two counts of domestic assault into the federal database.
Mr. Kennedy said he supports background checks but stands against a provision in the bill that offers financial incentives for state governments to also report offenses to the system.
