United states

Durbin: “I feel different among my colleagues” about gun reform

Senator Dick Durbin (Illinois), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, called on his colleagues involved in the bipartisan arms reform talks to “do the right thing” after last week’s mass shooting at a Texas primary school.

Asked by CNN co-host Dana Bash on Sunday whether lawmakers would take action after the Uwalde shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers, Durbin said the photos and stories of the victims were “fascinating”. for deputies.

“I can’t say for sure, but I can tell you that I feel different among my colleagues after Uwalde,” Durbin said.

A small group of Democratic and Republican senators formed a bipartisan negotiating team in hopes of reaching a modest agreement on gun control legislation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Gave the green light to the bipartisan talks on Thursday, revealing that he had asked Senator John Cornin (R-Texas), one of his advisers, to negotiate with Democrats.

A group of nine senators met Thursday afternoon in the Capitol’s basement to pave the way for talks. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), A leading Senate advocate for gun reform, hosted the meeting.

The group said it was focusing on past checks and encouraged states to create red flag laws to ban people who consider themselves dangerous to themselves or others from owning firearms.

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Durbin said Sunday that he supports bipartisan talks and has been in contact with both Murphy and Cornin.

“I suggested to Senator Cornin that if you can make progress with each other, if you can move us forward, don’t worry about the commission’s jurisdiction,” Durbin said.

“Do the right thing and do as much as you can. “And let’s unite, if we can, on a bipartisan basis, and show the American people that what happened in Uwalde was not in vain,” he said.