WASHINGTON – The Senate left town Thursday for a Memorial Day break after a devastating shooting at an elementary school in Walde, Texas amid renewed gun control.
Before the senators headed to the airport, a small group gathered to begin work on a two -party federal response to help prevent mass shootings, which they have been avoiding for decades.
In the face of high levels of pessimism, Democrats are clearly looking for ways to get enough Republicans to pass the gun violence law they have blocked in the past. Lawmakers say victims of gun violence and their families deserve a retrial, no matter how widespread the gun division in Congress.
“We need at least a week to solve these difficult problems. “Honestly, sometimes it’s easier to work on these issues outside of Washington than when we’re here,” said Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn. A background check on firearm purchases soon.
“If we fall, we will get a vote. “We put people on the record,” Murphy promised at a rally outside the Capitol, along with gun control activists.
The Senate has no plans to return to Washington until Sunday, June 6. Congress rarely does things unless there is a sense of urgency, and activists fear the breakdown could break the momentum for reform. of a gun after the deaths of 19 children and two teachers. Texas, as well as a racially motivated hunt in Buffalo, New York last week in which 10 people died.
But Democratic background check broadening legislation passed by the House earlier this year will fail in the Senate because of GOP resistance, whether it is a vote this month or later.
A bipartisan group of senators – including Murphy, Joe Mancin (DW.Va.), Kirsten Cinema (D -Ariz.), Pat Tum (RPA) and Lindsay Graham (RS.C.) – began meeting this week . See if there is a place for a bargain. Possible solutions include tighter controls than above, measures to increase school safety, different age requirements for the sale of federally licensed firearms, and Red Flag laws that allow authority to temporarily take firearms from people who represent a threat to others or themselves. .
Graham told reporters Thursday that the group is considering creating a federal grant program to encourage states to pass “red flag” laws. Many states already have such laws on the books. But there is no federal law on the red flag, Graham said.
“It seems to Republicans that the idea is they’re just running out of time here.”
– You. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
“Red flag statues were displayed to save lives.“ They will save thousands of lives, ”Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Said.
Previous attempts to find a common basis on arms reform have repeatedly failed. The latest was led by Murphy and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) and focused on reducing gaps in the background check system of gun buyers. He was suspended last year. Three years ago, after massive shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Republicans made similar speeches about background checks and the introduction of “red flag” laws. There is nowhere to go.
“We have no illusion that it will be easy. “We were burned in the past when Republicans promised a debate just to break their promise,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) said Thursday.
Republican leaders have kept the dust dry so far. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Told reporters he invited his members to take part in talks with Democrats.
One idea Democrats are considering is to impose higher age requirements for the sale of federally licensed firearms. Federal law allows gun sellers to sell rifles and shotguns under the age of 18, while firearm sales restricts people over the age of 21. Hunts in Texas and Buffalo are both made by 18-year-old used assault rifles.
But most Republicans are skeptical of correcting age limits. “When you’re 18, you can serve in our army and lay down your life for the good of our country,” Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told HuffPost.
Mancin, who failed to get senators in Parliament to vote on almost everything the Democrats have to offer, made a spirited note when he left the Senate on Thursday.
“I think it’s different now,” he said. “It shouldn’t be open time for kids.”
Not all Democrats seem to be equally confident in the race for a bipartisan gun law agreement.
“It looks like the idea for Republicans is to run out of time here,” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Told HuffPost.
“They want to talk about 10 more topics, they want to engage in the game of finger pointing and blame, but ultimately they don’t want to deal with gun violence,” Warren added. “Until we have some Republicans in the Senate who are willing to deal with this problem, we are not going to make any real progress.
Source: Huffpost
