The package, which has little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled chamber, will include a version of an earlier proposal to expand background checks. The expansion would include online firearms purchases and those from unlicensed dealers at gun shows.
In a letter to colleagues, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the overall goals were to tighten background checks and curtail gun trafficking.
Another component of the package, sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, would expand prohibitions on gun purchases to include abusive dating partners, individuals under a court-imposed restraining order and convicted stalkers. People convicted of domestic abuse are already barred from buying or owning a gun.
At a news conference on Wednesday, the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said his colleagues were eager to tighten gun laws and address the recent shootings.
- “Think about what’s happened so far this year,” Mr. Reid said. “More than 200 mass killings, 48 schools we’ve had mass killings of little kids, including the students at the college in Oregon. So we’re going to move forward.”
Beyond likely failure in the Republican-controlled Senate, the Democrats’ gun proposals also have virtually no chance of even being considered in the G.O.P.-dominated House.
Mr. Blumenthal, a former state attorney general, said that state gun laws alone were not sufficient.
- “The strongest state laws against gun violence are no better than the weakest legal link in the chain,” he said.
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