Two Republican senators want to close the so-called gun show loophole in federal firearms laws. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, sent a note to fellow GOP senators that they would attach a rider addressing gun shows in the next appropriate bill. Their reasoning for backing the measure: that it will help stop terrorists.

Under this proposal, all vendors at gun shows would be required to have a background check before selling a gun.

McCain and DeWine are joining two Democrats, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Charles Schumer of New York, as sponsors of the measure.

It may seem like a strange position for a politician from a state in which open carrying of handguns is allowed without a permit, but McCain said this was just another move to make life more difficult for potential terrorists.

He backs his position with three examples of terrorists who bought firearms at gun shows without background checks.

Federal agents witnessed a man in Michigan with ties to Hezbollah buy guns at three shows. Ali Boumelhem has since been convicted of weapons smuggling.

A Pakistani being held in the Sept. 11 attacks had been a customer at gun shows for seven years. He has pleaded guilty to immigration and weapons charges.

A Florida man with ties to the Irish Republican Army testified to buying thousands of dollars in weapons and ammunition at gun shows to send to Ireland.

In an interview on KTAR radio in Phoenix, McCain wondered, "If these three have been caught, how many haven’t we caught?"

McCain acknowledged the past difficulties in getting the measure passed, but said he had "no doubt as to how people feel about this." He pointed to recent initiatives in Colorado and Oregon that closed the "loophole" in those states and passed with more than 70 percent of the vote.

McCain’s feeling that "attitudes have changed since the prior bill" doesn’t sit well with top officials at the National Rifle Association.

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NRA legislative director James Jay Baker told USA Today on Nov. 28 that "none of the terrorism we saw visited on this country on September 11th had anything to do with firearms."

McCain admitted that NRA lobbying had stalled this proposal before. He said he could not understand the NRA’s position given the organization’s stand that existing gun laws need to be enforced. "If you want to enforce existing laws, don’t you want to close the loopholes?" McCain asked.

McCain is confident that closing the so-called loophole will not prevent legitimate buyers from obtaining guns. He pointed to General Accounting Office figures showing that 90 percent of background checks take just a few minutes and that 95 percent of them are completed within two hours. Checks that take longer are 20 times more likely to turn up a felon.

Asked about the chance of the measure becoming law should it pass Congress, McCain said he had "very little doubt that the president would sign" the bill.