Gun debate: Democrats push for new controls; Sen. Johnson says, "We need to proceed cautiously"

MILWAUKEE -- Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is urging Congress to be cautious before voting on laws to keep guns away from people on terror watch lists. This comes after the Democrats' 14-hour filibuster calling for more gun safety measures.

Next week, the U.S. Senate will begin debating a number of gun bills aimed at stopping future mass shootings like the one in Orlando.

"Every Democrat, every Republican, every American wants to make sure terrorists and would-be terrorists do not have access to weapons. But we need to proceed cautiously though," said Sen. Johnson.

Among the proposed legislation from Democrats is a ban on gun sales to suspected terrorists.

Republicans like Sen. Johnson fear people who are mistakenly placed on terror watch lists will be deprived of their second Amendment right.

"These databases, these watch lists, nobody knows exactly how they're created, exactly how law enforcement uses them. I think we're jumping to conclusions way too quickly on this," Johnson said.



Democrats also want to expand background checks. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin says doing nothing is no longer an option.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin

"We have decided that our silence, our moments of silence, our thoughts and prayers, are not enough," Baldwin said.

As part of both parties' commitment to vote on gun control reform, Republicans will introduce competing bills.

"Let's try and find an area of agreement to actually solve a problem and prevent these things, without trampling on our constitutional rights and due process," Johnson said.

Omar Saddiqui Mateen was the gunman who opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida killing at least 50 people, two law enforcement officials told CNN.

As chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Johnson has requested that Facebook turn over posts and searches from Orlando mass shooter Omar Mateen's Facebook pages. Johnson hopes this kind of information can be used to enact policy changes to help prevent future attacks.