The Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a 650,000 strong gun rights lobbying group, has endorsed the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks. CNN: The chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Alan Gottlieb, sent a message to members and contributors stating the bill "bans any federal gun registry and carries a 15-year prison term for anyone who violates it."

 "We protect and expand a good number of pro-gun rights measures as well," Gottlieb continued, noting he and one of the group's lobbyists had helped craft the deal. He cited measures like making interstate gun sales easier, and restoring gun rights to veterans, as reasons for his group's support. The background check compromise measure was brokered by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. It extends checks to gun shows and Internet sales but not to private sales. The country's largest gun-rights group, the...(Read Full Post)