Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tn.) on Thursday made the following statement on his decision to oppose an amendment to expand background checks by Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said the Toomey-Manchin amendment will be the first to come up when the Senate begins deliberation of gun legislation next week.

“I’ll examine each amendment to determine whether it strengthens or infringes upon our Second Amendment rights,” Senator Alexander said. “The Toomey-Manchin proposal to expand background checks in my opinion doesn’t meet that test and I will vote against it.”

In its most recent ranking of the senator, the National Rifle Association gave Senator Alexander an “A rating.”