Gun Violence

U.S. Supreme Court may sidestep a big Second Amendment fight BY ROBIN BRAVENDER - 12/2/2019 A high-profile gun rights case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday might be dismissed with little fanfare. The justices heard an hour of arguments in the case that challenges now-defunct New York City gun restrictions. The case has been billed as the biggest gun rights lawsuit in a decade, with t... Read more »

Today, the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Act of 2019, H.R. 1236, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee’s gun violence prevention markup, moving it one step closer to a vote on the House floor. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and co-led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). “This is a historic day in ... Read more »

Democrats eye action on threat of white nationalism BY MIKE LILLIS - 08/28/19 Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing hard to adopt tougher gun laws following a pair of mass shootings this month that horrified the country and rekindled the on-again, off-again push to install higher barriers to owning firearms. But as Congress prepares to return to Washington next month from the long summer recess, ... Read more »

CNN | Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is planning to ask the Trump administration to withdraw its request for $5 billion in border wall funding and redirect the funding to counter gun violence and white supremacy extremism, a person familiar with Schumer's thinking told CNN. The Trump administration is unlikely to be receptive to the request, especially given that the border wall is a key p... Read more »

Rep. Beyer (D-VA) today joined House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, survivors of gun violence, and his colleagues Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Eliot Engel (D-NY) in the U.S. Capitol to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up and pass H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. His remarks, below (as prepared), were delivered in th... Read more »

WTOP | In the wake of the mass shootings that killed 31 in Texas and Ohio, gun violence victims joined House Democratic leaders Tuesday and urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote and pass expanded gun-sale background checks. More than 9,000 people have died so far this year as a result of gun violence, including more than 250 in mass shootings. Twenty-two people were killed b... Read more »

The Hill | A handful of House Democrats returned to Washington on Tuesday to press House Republicans to tackle gun control immediately, and to accuse Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of single-handedly blocking tougher laws at the expense of public safety. Democrats have long sought legislation to expand background checks before gun sales, which passed through the House in February, ... Read more »

U.S. News & World Report | A number of House Democrats on Tuesday briefly returned to Washington in the midst of their six-week recess to ramp up pressure on Senate Republicans to consider a bill the lower chamber passed on universal background checks for gun buyers after recent deadly mass shootings. During a Tuesday press conference led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, rank-and-... Read more »

Newsweek | House Democrats continued Tuesday to push Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, to immediately recall his chamber from August recess to act on gun control legislation passed by the House earlier this year. In an attempt to up the ante and take their case directly to the American people, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, and some of his coll... Read more »

Associated Press | Democrats pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday to approve House-passed legislation expanding background checks and to take other steps curbing guns, in an offensive fueled by public outrage over this month’s mass killings in Texas and Ohio. It seemed unlikely that Democrats’ moves would have much impact on top Republicans. While President Donald Trump and Mc... Read more »