Hastert Won’t Whip GOP on Gun Bill

Raising further doubts over whether the fractious House can pass a gun control bill, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) acknowledged Republican divisions on the legislation and said he did not plan to “whip” members into a unified party line. Hastert has spoken favorably of new gun safety measures since the Littleton, Colo., high school massacre. The House bill does not go as far as the Senate measure passed in May, with greater latitude in a requirement for background checks on purchasers at gun shows.