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Democrats Lament Inability to Pass Gun Restrictions: ‘We Are Stuck’ Democrats Bemoan Congress’s Inaction on Guns: ‘We Are Stuck’
(about 5 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats, frustrated by years of futility on gun safety legislation, called on Republicans leaders on Tuesday to create a special committee to investigate gun violence in America — and asked them to withdraw a measure that would deregulate the sale of gun silencers. WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, was at a loss on Tuesday. After the massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, he challenged the pro-gun bent of his state and co-authored legislation to expand background checks of gun purchasers, only to see the measure fail.
“We are stuck,’’ said Representative Linda Sanchez of California, the vice chairwoman of the House Democratic caucus. “We have asked time and time again of our Republican counterparts to please engage in this discussion of how do we stop gun violence, and they are completely unwilling to do anything to help us out on that issue.’’ “I just think that common sense has to prevail,” a dispirited Mr. Manchin said, explaining why he thinks that now is “the wrong time” to revive his bill. “But until that happens, until other people feel the same, we’re at a stalemate and that’s a shame.”
Ms. Sanchez made her remarks as lawmakers in both parties grappled with Sunday night’s massacre at a country music festival in Las Vegas, which killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others. While Democrats spoke of legislative solutions, Republicans — following the lead of President Trump — tried to steer the debate toward lauding police and emergency medical workers. For years, amid a string of mass shootings in places whose names are by now seared into the national psyche — Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Newtown, San Bernardino, Orlando and now Las Vegas — Democrats have tried to enact what they call “common-sense” gun restrictions. Time and time again, they have failed.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, called on the president to bring the leaders of Congress together, “and let both sides know he is ready and willing to address this issue of gun safety head-on.” This week’s massacre in Las Vegas, which killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500, appears to have done little to change Washington’s gun control dynamic.
Mr. Trump has praised the swiftness of the Las Vegas law enforcement response to the gunman and on Tuesday said that it was “in many ways, a miracle.” During his weekly news conference, Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin echoed the president, saying that as America grieves, it should also focus on the goodness of those who responded and helped save lives on Sunday. As they have done in the past, Democrats are contemplating legislation shaped to the massacre; Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, suggested targeting kits that could legally transform semiautomatic weapons to automatic ones. The Las Vegas gunman apparently used so-called bump stocks — legal modifications to semiautomatic rifles — to help them fire more like automatic weapons.
“We cannot let the actions of a single person define us as a country. It’s not who we are. Instead what truly defines us are the acts of heroism we witnessed after the tragedy,” Mr. Ryan said. “This is the least we should do in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history,” Ms. Feinstein said. “It should be our highest priority.”
Mr. Ryan also said the House has no plans to vote on the so-called Hearing Protection Act, which would eliminate a $200 tax on firearm silencers, refund silencer-tax payments back to October of 2015, and ease registration requirements. That tactic mirrored the Democrats’ tailored approaches of the past: After the Newtown shooting, they called for background checks for all gun purchases, including those at gun shows and from online sellers. After the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., last year, they tried to ban gun sales to people on federal no-fly or terrorism watch lists. After the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, it was improving background checks to catch mental illness.
“That bill is not scheduled now,’’ he said. “I don’t know when it’s going to be scheduled.’’ And as they have done in the past, Republicans tried to steered the conversation in another direction, this time spotlighting the work of emergency medical workers. President Trump praised the swiftness of the Las Vegas law enforcement response, calling it “in many ways, a miracle.”
The House will vote Tuesday on legislation that would effectively ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying fetuses can feel pain after that point. In the Capitol, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, rebuffed questions about potential legislative action during his regular news conference Tuesday afternoon, saying that he thought it “particularly inappropriate” to politicize the massacre so soon. Republicans, he said, would instead remain focused on advancing a tax overhaul.
Democrats have for years been pushing what they call ‘‘common sense’’ gun restrictions that would require background checks for all gun purchases, including those at gun shows and from online sellers. Other proposals would limit the size of magazines used in semiautomatic weapons and bolster restrictions on gun purchases for people with mental illnesses or who have been flagged by federal law enforcement as potential terrorists. “Look, the investigation’s not even been completed,” Mr. McConnell said. “And I think’s it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”
But those legislative efforts have failed time and time again — even when they have had Republican backers. Indeed, the only gun legislation on the Republicans’ agenda appears to be the so-called Hearing Protection Act — a gun rights measure that would eliminate a $200 tax on firearm silencers, refund silencer-tax payments back to October of 2015, and ease registration requirements.
One Republican who has co-sponsored legislation to expand background checks, Representative Peter King of New York, sounded noncommittal about bringing back his bill, noting that the Las Vegas gunman had passed background checks. Mr. King said the subject of gun violence did not come up during the Republicans’ weekly closed-door caucus meeting. That measure has been working its way through the House, though Speaker Paul D. Ryan said on Tuesday that he has no plans at the moment to bring it up for a vote. House Democratic leaders have called for Mr. Ryan to withdraw the gun silencers bill, and to create a special committee to investigate gun violence in America, which would report back with legislative solutions.
As to the Democrats’ proposal for a committee, Mr. King said, “Let’s wait.’’ “We are stuck,” said Representative Linda T. Sánchez of California, the vice chairwoman of the House Democratic caucus. “We have asked time and time again of our Republican counterparts to please engage in this discussion of how do we stop gun violence, and they are completely unwilling to do anything to help us out on that issue.”
“To me its really wrong to be jumping out there trying to politicize a tragedy,’’ he said. ‘‘Let’s at least wait a few days and see what happens.’’ Congress is, in fact, not completely stuck — even on difficult issues framed in terms of life and death. House Republicans on Tuesday took up legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The House just passed legislation 237-189.
Some gun safety advocates acknowledged that expanding background checks would not have prevented the massacre in Las Vegas. Among them is Lori Hankey Haas, whose daughter was injured in the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. The contrasting action and inaction — on abortion and gun control — spotlighted the stark politics of “life” in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting. As they debated the abortion bill, members of both parties juxtaposed the two issues.
Representative Joe Barton, Republican of Texas, who was at a congressional baseball practice in June when a gunman opened fire, nearly killing a senior Republican, said that the gun issue was “separate” from the abortion debate.
But Republicans who praised emergency medical workers in Las Vegas also repurposed that praise in the abortion debate. “These are little boys and little girls waiting to be born,” said Representative Mike Kelly, Republican of Pennsylvania, in a speech in the House defending the abortion ban. “If we do not stand for them, who will stand for them? If we are not the first responders, who will be the first responders?”
Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington, was incredulous.
“There is this absolute silence on the deaths that have been created through guns and irresponsible gun ownership and yet here we are somehow talking about the sanctity of life when it relates to abortions,” she said.
Representative Louise Slaughter, a Democrat of New York, put in bluntly. “I don’t know anything else to call it but pure hypocrisy,” she said. “We love it until it’s born and then it’s somebody else’s problem.”
So far, Republicans in the House have shown no interest in any additional legislation that would limit guns. Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking House Republican nearly killed by a gunman in June, reappeared Tuesday at a House Republican leadership news conference. He said nothing about gun legislation.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Scalise said that what he saw in Las Vegas “fortified” his stance in support of the Second Amendment.
Senator John Thune, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, did tell an NBC News reporter that lawmakers “ought to take a look at” conversion kits that can make guns more lethal. But Mr. Thune also suggested little could be achieved through legislation.
“I think people are going to have to take steps in their own lives to take precautions,” he said. “To protect themselves. And in situations like that, you know, try to stay safe. As somebody said — get small.”
Some gun safety advocates acknowledged that expanding background checks would not have prevented the massacre in Las Vegas. Among them was Lori Hankey Haas, whose daughter was wounded in the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.
“Is there a single policy that would have prevented this particular mass shooting?” asked Ms. Haas, who is now the Virginia state director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, an advocacy group. “I doubt it seriously. But it doesn’t mean you don’t try.”“Is there a single policy that would have prevented this particular mass shooting?” asked Ms. Haas, who is now the Virginia state director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, an advocacy group. “I doubt it seriously. But it doesn’t mean you don’t try.”
Inside the Capitol, a member of Congress who was nearly killed by a gunman, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking House Republican, reappeared Tuesday at a House Republican leadership news conference. He said nothing about gun legislation.
Outside the Capitol, though, calls for new gun restrictions were growing from those whose lives have been affected by gun violence. On Monday, a former member of Congress who was nearly killed by a gunman, Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona who was left brain damaged after a 2011 mass shooting, appeared on Capitol Hill with a pointed missive for her colleagues in Congress, which she delivered with a raised fist: “The nation is counting on you.”
Ms. Giffords was joined by her husband, the former astronaut Mark Kelly; the two have founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a nonprofit that advocates for gun safety laws. Mr. Kelly called on Congress to pass the background checks measure.
“What we’re hearing from the White House are thoughts and prayers,” Mr. Kelly said. “Thoughts and prayers are important; we send our thoughts and prayers too. But they are not enough. Your thoughts and prayers aren’t going to stop the next shooting.”