Gun votes carry risks for some Democrats

WASHINGTON — There is little mystery, from a campaign viewpoint, at least, about the eight senators who crossed party lines in Wednesday’s showdown vote on background checks for gun buyers.

The four Democrats who voted against broader background checks are from largely rural states that voted heavily against President Barack Obama last fall.

Three of the four Republicans who voted in favor of the measure are from states Obama carried easily. The exception is John McCain of Arizona, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee.

The four Democrats — Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Pryor of Arkansas — could cite a stack of pragmatic reasons for opposing the gun measure. The four Democrats’ states have deep traditions of hunting and gun ownership. They lack large cities, where persistent shootings can build momentum for gun control.

None of that saved the four Democrats from Obama’s wrath after the measure fell five votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, a crushing defeat for Obama and others who want stronger measures to detect ineligible gun buyers.

In an emotional speech soon after the vote, the president — without naming names — said of the measure’s opponents: “Most of these senators could not offer any good reason why we wouldn’t want to make it harder for criminals and those with severe mental illnesses to buy a gun.”

“It came down to politics,” Obama said. “Obviously, a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they caved to the pressure.”