Actually, it would not have stopped yesterday’s tragedy. The shooter bought his shotgun legally last week from a gun dealer in Virginia, this means he filled out a form 4473 and passed a FBI NICS background check.

Via The Hill:

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) on Tuesday said gun control legislation defeated in the Senate earlier this year might have prevented Monday’s mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.

Durbin, a leading proponent of gun control, called on the Senate to reconsider legislation sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to expand background checks.

“We need to return to issues that are of importance,” Durbin said on the Senate floor. “There was an issue before the Senate several months ago, a bipartisan amendment offered by Sens. Manchin and Toomey, that would have taken an extra step to keep guns out of the hands of those who have a history of felonies and who are mentally ill.”

On the other hand, the amendment from Ted Cruz and Chuck Grassley that would have strengthened background checks by upping the requirements on mental health reporting could have prevented the shooter from buying his shotgun.