McDonough's comments came Tuesday afternoon, shortly after Reid
announced that the Senate would not include the ban in the package of gun bills that recently passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Opposition by Republicans and a number of Blue Dog Democrats hurt the legislation's chances of becoming law.
"Look, we'll see what happens in terms of what bill actually comes to the floor. We think it's really important and a very good step that several of these measures were passed out of the Judiciary Committee last week, that the Senate has now dedicated time -- as soon as they come back from this next recess -- to address this next gun issue," McDonough said to Jake Tapper during an interview on CNN's "The Lead." "And as the president said in the State of the Union, Jake, what we want is votes on each of these issues, to include the assault weapons ban."
"But Harry Reid says he's not going to bring it up?" Tapper responded. McDonough said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who introduced the assault weapons ban legislation, could still bring up the ban as an amendment to another bill.
"No, he says it's not going to be in the base bill and then there'll be amendments. I'm sure from Sen. Feinstein, who's been a champion of this over the last decade because of own experience in San Francisco, and frankly what she's seen across the country," McDonough said. "So we're going to work on this, we're going to find the votes, and it deserves a vote. Let's see if we can get it done."
Feinstein, who is a longtime proponent of stricter gun laws, obtained a concealed weapon permit in the 1970s after she was targeted by the New World Liberation Front, which tried to blow up her house.
