Senate puts hold on gun bill

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has put a hold on a bill aimed at improving the federal system for checking the mental health history of gun buyers.

The bill, which is expected to become the nation's first new firearms bill in more than 10 years, was created in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

However, Coburn said the bill, which has wide bipartisan support and the approval of the National Rifle Association, would create "a pathway by which individuals can lose their Second Amendment rights but no pathway through which they can gain them back if they're stable."

"I believe individual rights should be guaranteed," Coburn said.

Coburn also said he is concerned about the cost of the bill, which he estimated would total $2 billion over the next several years. He said the bill "is growing the government without decreasing it somewhere else."

Sen. Chuck Shumer, D-N.Y., one of the bill's authors, said Coburn is unwavering in his opposition to the measure.

"We'll bring it to the floor. We're not going to let one member stop the will of what seems to be a large majority," Schumer said.

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