US Senate denies gun control plans

The US Senate has rejected plans to tighten gun controls, including the restriction of weapons sales to people on terrorism watch lists. Four proposals were brought before the Senate after 49 people died in an attack on a gay nightclub in Florida. But Democratic and Republican senators voted along party lines, blocking each other's bills. Senators strongly disagreed about how to prevent more attacks happening in future. Republicans and members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) complained that the bills put forward by the Democrats violated the constitutional right to bear arms. Democrats said the Republican proposals were too weak. Though partisan differences plague debate in the Republican-dominated chamber, the bills reflect a shift in American sentiment on guns. Senator Susan Collins from Maine is working with fellow Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte on a compromise bill to prohibit the sale of guns to terrorism suspects on the no-fly list, and to create an appeals process for people who might be on the list by mistake.