A Republican senator and a Democrat senator hope they can find common ground on gun reforms that will garner enough Republican support to cross the 60-vote threshold in the Senate after the school shooting in Uwalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults died.
Republican Sen. John Cornin and Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy will meet virtually on Tuesday to “see if we can agree on a basic framework” on how to move forward with weapons bill proposals, according to Cornin’s aide. A Murphy aide confirmed that the senator was “attending tomorrow’s meeting and will hold meetings throughout the week.”
Their offices do not specify whether other members will join this bipartisan attempt to address areas of an agreement on arms reform. The White House has rejected an invitation from CBS News’ “Face the Nation” member of the administration to join the show on Sunday, saying it will leave it to Congress, moderator and senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan told viewers Sunday.
President Biden told reporters Monday that it is difficult to say which element Republicans could support, as he has not yet negotiated with any of them. The president spent Sunday in Uwalde, Texas, mourning family members who have lost loved ones.
“Look, I don’t know, but I think there is an awareness on the part of rational Republicans – and I think Senator McConnell is a rational Republican; I think Cornin is too, “Biden told White House reporters. South Lawn on Remembrance Day. “I think there is an acknowledgment on their part that they – we can’t go on like this. We can’t do that. “
Senator John Cornin of Texas and Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Brandon Bell / Getty Images, Chip Somodeville / Getty Images
The president also criticized high-capacity magazines, saying there was “no point” in buying something that could fire hundreds of bullets and bullets that have more killing capacity. But Murphy told Face the Nation on Sunday that he thought “we are unlikely to get 60 votes for it.”
Mr Biden said he once asked a trauma doctor why people seemed to die more from gunshot wounds than 20 or 25 years ago, and the doctor, according to the president, said: “A .22-caliber bullet will hit the lungs and probably we can get it out, we can get it and save a life. A 9 mm bullet blows the lungs out of the body.
“So the idea for these high-caliber weapons is – there’s just no rational basis for that in terms of thinking about self-defense, hunting,” the president told reporters Monday. “I mean, I just – and remember that the Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute.”
Murphy also said in “Face the Nation” that Republicans “do not want to support everything I support, such as a ban on assault weapons.”
“But I really think we could adopt something that saves lives and destroys that stagnation we’ve had for 30 years, proving to Republicans that if you vote to tighten national gun laws, the sky won’t fall politically for you.” in fact, you’re likely to get a lot of new supporters, “Murphy said. “So the red flag laws are on the table. Background checks, extensions and on the table, as well as things like safe weapons storage. I think we can do something, but we don’t have much time.”
John Feinblatt of Everytown on weapons safety said Monday that he “hopes” there are “real bipartisan discussions”.
“Will he fix everything?” No. Will it happen, can it be a significant start? Absolutely, “said Feinblatt. “And so I hope. And we will certainly be there, encouraging senators on both sides of the aisle to do the work of the people. As I said, the American public doesn’t want much. They want to live in a country where they are free to go to the grocery store for free to go to church, free to go to school, free to walk the streets of the city in a country known for freedom. I think the least the Senate can do is meet the American public. “
After mass shootings in 2019, then-President Trump said in August 2019 that he wanted “very meaningful checks on the past.” This never happened. Days later, he said the United States already had “very, very strong checks”.
Congress is out of session this week for Remembrance Day, so the Senate will not vote on legislation before then.
School shooting in Uwald, Texas
More more
Add Comment