Senator. Chris Murphy (D-CT) who has been pushing for gun control is trying to dampen down expectations. He has said that what senators might be discussing in a deal with Republicans won’t be banning assault weapons, something that each Joe Biden and Kamala Harris demanded – and “comprehensive” background checks.
From The Hill:
Murphy said to CNN “State of the Union” anchor Jake Tapper that the bipartisan group of senators who are leading the talks after recent mass shootings met on Saturday night. He added the talks focus is on funding for mental health care as well as school safety measures “modest but impactful” gun control plans.
“We're not going to do everything I want,” Murphy stated.
“We're not going to put a piece of legislation on the table that's going to ban assault weapons, or we're not going to pass comprehensive background checks,” he stated. “But currently, the citizens across the country would like us to progress. They're not willing to allow the status quo to last for another 30 years.”
I'm all for focusing attention on the mental wellbeing of children (which is often an element) as well as security at school. The main question, naturally, is what do we mean by “modest but impactful” gun control?
Senator. John Cornyn (R-TX) whom Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) designated to work with Democrats said that more stringent firearm laws would “not gonna happen.”
“I've never been part of negotiations as serious as these,” Murphy stated on Sunday. “There are more Republicans at the table talking about changing our gun laws and investing in mental health than at any time since Sandy Hook.” [….]
Murphy said that the group is also working on enhancing background checks and encouraging states to adopt red flag laws that permit people to request a court order to temporarily take firearms away from owners who are considered to be risky to others or themselves and also providing money to states that already have red flag laws.
Murphy states that he hopes they'll have concrete ideas that they can present to lawmakers next week. He also stated that it's possible they won't be able to reach an agreement. A lack of agreement may be more in line with the demands of the American citizens. According to the results of a recent Gallup survey, the majority of Americans do not want stricter gun laws at the moment regardless of how hard Democrats try to make the issue more political.
The most hilarious part was the way Murphy responded when CNN's “State of the Union” host asked if he believed it would be beneficial to have Joe Biden involved, and Murphy instantly rejected the idea.
“I think the Senate needs to do this ourselves,” Murphy said. “[B]ut right now the Senate needs to handle these negotiations.” The Democrats recognize that the involvement by Joe Biden would just mess things up, so they're not embracing Biden's wish list since they're sure they won't attain it.
