Monday’s mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, just so happened to occur the evening before a previously scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence,” underscoring one of congressional Democrats’ top policy priorities.
“Last night, I was putting the finishing touches on my statement and questions, and there was another unspeakable mass shooting, this time in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the committee. “We are numb to the numbers. Unless we are personally touched, it’s just another statistic. That has got to stop.”
The question for Democrats, who would need support from at least 10 Republicans in order to nullify the filibuster and pass a gun control bill through the Senate, is determining which measures they can pass the chamber, if any.
“We won’t agree on everything. I know that. But I certainly hope that we can do something,” Durbin said. “For us to be hamstrung in this committee by our 50-50 and stopped on the floor by a filibuster is the ultimate frustration.”
SCHUMER PLEDGES ACTION ON GUN BILLS IN WAKE OF BOULDER MASS SHOOTING
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday pledged to bring a pair of gun control bills that passed the House earlier this month to the Senate floor: H.R. 8 would close what Democrats say are “loopholes.” One proposal would broaden background checks, including for person-to-person transfers of firearms. And the other bill tries to close the “Charleston loophole” that allows the sale of a firearm if a background check is not completed within three days by expanding that period to 10 days.
But Pennsylvanian Sen. Pat Toomey, a centrist Republican who previously teamed up with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on a proposal that would have expanded background checks on gun sales to most private transactions, told reporters on Tuesday that he does not think that the House-passed proposals have any chance of passing in the Senate.
Manchin also told reporters he does not support H.R. 8 as written, essentially sending lawmakers back to the drawing board for crafting legislation.
The road block posed by the Senate filibuster is spurring continued calls from Democrats to change the Senate rule.
“America’s made up their mind on background checks. If the filibuster is the only thing that stops a wildly popular proposal from becoming law, then it should be part of the conversation as to why the rules need to change,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told the Hill pool.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted earlier this month found that 84% of voters support requiring background checks for all gun purchases.
Despite urging from President Biden to reinstate a ban on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, not all Democratic senators are on the same page on pushing gun control legislation.
“I think it’s too early to get into those things of how do we parse, what’s the priority, which things first. I think there’s still just a process of digesting grief,” Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper told the press pool.
There is some willingness among Republicans, though, to work with Democrats on some kind of gun law. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said that she would support a new push for the Manchin-Toomey legislation. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has legislation that would encourage states to pass “red flag laws.”
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Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Tuesday hearing said that he will reintroduce legislation he co-authored with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa that will more strictly enforce background check violations and aim to combat arms trafficking, legislation that Democrats blocked.
“I don’t apologize for thoughts or prayers. I will lift up and pray for people who are hurting,” Cruz said. “But I also agree thoughts and prayers alone are not enough. We need action.”
