article_snippet: Hundreds of lawmakers, including 52 U.S. senators, also objected.
article_snippet: Only one GOP senator, Mark Kirk of Illinois, chose not to sign a similar letter.
article_snippet: Only one GOP senator, Mark Kirk of Illinois faces a brutal re-election fight next year in a blue state where gun control advocates have a strong presence.
highlights_snippet: 53 senators and 239 House members – including seven Democrats – signed protest letters to the ATF's director .
  