However, according to Factcheck, Flake did not promise to expand background checks, and he voted in favor of a bill that he argues (though others contest) would have strengthened the system.
From Factcheck:
The TV and print ads are being aired in Arizona after Flake voted against an amendment offered by Sens. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican. The bipartisan legislation that would have expanded background checks to private sales by unlicensed individuals at gun shows and over the Internet. Among the major gun bills considered in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the Manchin-Toomey amendment was viewed as having the best chance of passage.
Minutes after the Manchin-Toomey amendment failed to get the 60 votes necessary to move forward, Flake voted in support of a Republican alternative, the Grassley amendment, which received less attention. We’ll get to the particulars of each proposal, but in order to sort through the competing claims — which we are sure to see more of in future elections – it is important to remember that the sides are talking about two different bills.
In mid-January, Flake registered his opposition to President Obama’s gun control plan, saying it “goes too far.” And in a statement reported by the Arizona Republic in early March, a spokeswoman said Flake opposes universal background checks, but “believes in broader background checks like making sure mental-health records are more efficiently integrated into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. He’s working on legislation to strengthen the reporting process of mental-health records so that those who shouldn’t have access to guns are barred from purchasing them.”
The Grassley amendment addressed those concerns, and Flake never supported expanding background checks in the way proposed by Manchin-Toomey.
To read the rest of the report click here.