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One week after Orlando shooting, gun debate active among more Republican lawmakers

Senate set to discuss gun reform Monday
Posted at 5:17 PM, Jun 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-19 18:17:41-04

GREEN BAY, WI -- One week later, and the Orlando shooting has prompted the U.S. Senate to take up bills Monday to prevent people on terrorist watch lists from obtaining guns.

Meanwhile, other groups like the NRA say no bill could stop someone who wants a gun from getting one.
 
So, one week later, it's clear the gun debate is still divided. In fact, many gun shop owners nationwide are actually seeing spikes in AR-15 sales. 
 
But there is an active gun reform debate happening, and this time around some Republican lawmakers say they're calling for more discussion.
 
For many, the news out of Orlando last week was tragic, but not surprising. 
 
"The past few years, [and] mass shootings in general," says Ryan Purcell, of Green Bay, "it's sad as a country that it's prevalent, and it happens." 
 
And like mass shootings in the past, talks of gun reform have brought with them a short-term, but significant spike in gun sales "because people are panicking that they are going to ban that style of gun," says one Michigan gun store owner.
 
But it's also spurring a debate among lawmakers, including Wisconsin's U.S. Congressman Reid Ribble.
 
"I actually think the debate ought to happen. I think it ought to happen on the floor of the House," says Rep. Ribble, on Friday, "and our Committees. I think it's a debate worthy of happening."
 
Ribble adds he's a firm defender of the 2nd amendment, but says there's a balance that can be achieved.
 
"Clearly someone who's on the terrorist watch list... they still have due process if they're Americans," says Ribble. "We can write legislation that would hold that due process test there, while simultaneously protecting the American people. It doesn't have to be either-or."
 
Sunday morning, on NBC's Meet the Press, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan [R - WI] says we want to "get this right."
 
"The question right now is, if someone is on a terror watch list, are the authorities notified as to whether someone on that list is trying to purchase a gun or not? That is the procedure right now," says Ryan. "So the question is: can we make sure that procedure works the way it's supposed to work?
 
Meanwhile others saygun reform should go beyond just talk.
 
"There needs to be a bigger screening process for people trying to purchase guns," says Purcell.
 
Congressman Ribble does say the bulk of the conversation is still about dangerous people, not weapons. He wants much of the focus to be on the underlying circumstances behind a killer's motive.