Senate committee postpones work on gun bills

The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its work on writing bills curbing guns, probably until next week.

The delay had long been expected. The panel often grants such delays to give senators more time to work on legislation.

The committee is considering bills that would ban assault weapons, strengthen federal laws against illegal gun trafficking, provide money for school safety improvements and expand the requirement for background checks for gun purchasers.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont has assured fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California that she would get a vote on her bill banning assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines. That measure, in particular, has drawn strong Republican opposition. And some moderate Democrats have also expressed concerns about the measure as well.