Washington, D.C. -- Senate Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Tuesday his support of a GOP filibuster of a gun bill will depend on the final shape the legislation takes.

But he also re-stated his opposition to expanded background checks, a core aim of the legislation that Senate Democrats are preparing.

Johnson is one of 13 GOP senators who has signed a letter vowing to filibuster a gun bill.

Johnson said his intention is to filibuster any legislation that “would infringe on our Second Amendment rights. To me, that’s a pretty easy letter to sign.”

The senators who signed the letter declared their intention to oppose any legislation “that would infringe on the American people’s constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance.”

But the letter also says more broadly that the senators will move to filibuster “any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions.” 

Republicans in the Senate are split over the use of a filibuster on the gun issue. Some favor moving to a vote as long as they are allowed to offer amendments to the legislation.   Others are waiting to see what the final bill looks like.

Democrats have assailed the idea of preventing a vote on gun legislation through the filibuster, a procedural tactic that requires a super majority of 60 votes to proceed to a final vote on a bill.   

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel late last week, Johnson said of the gun debate, “There’s no magic wand we can wave and prevent these tragedies in the future.”

On background checks, he said:

“I don’t see how you can achieve universal background checks. That’s going to be another government program at additional cost. It’s a speed bump to law-abiding citizens and will have absolutely no effect in terms of keeping guns from people who want to do harm. I just don’t think it’s going to be effective at all.”

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