Articles
Democrats Return to Washington to Demand GOP Consider Gun Legislation
Washington,
August 13, 2019
Tags:
Gun Violence
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-file Democrats and gun control activists called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to take up a bill the House passed in February that requires background checks for all firearm sales, including private transactions. Current federal law only mandates background checks for purchases from licensed gun dealers. House Democrats have debated cutting recess short to respond to the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California that left more than 50 people dead. But Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California want to keep the heat on McConnell and the Senate, where the House bill has languished for months and once had no prospects of being considered. Lawmakers in both chambers don't take votes until Sept. 9. |