Washington – More than 200 mayors, including those running Connecticut’s major cities, on Thursday called on the Senate to return immediately from its August recess to vote on legislation that would strengthen background checks for gun buyers.
A letter from the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said “already in 2019, there have been over 250 mass shootings.”
“The tragic events in El Paso and Dayton this weekend are just the latest reminders that our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to take the actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to firearms from being able to purchase them,” the mayors said.
The letter was signed by seven Connecticut mayors, including Marcia LeClerc of East Hartford, Luke Bronin of Hartford, Kevin Scarpati of Meriden, Toni Harp of New Haven, David Martin of Stamford, Shari Cantor of West Hartford and Joe Ganim of Bridgeport.
“Proud to stand with 214 other mayors from across the country in calling on the U.S. Senate to reconvene and take immediate action on bipartisan, Common Sense gun laws,” Cantor tweeted. “We have to work together to make our cities and our country safer.”
But cancellation of the Senate’s summer recess, scheduled to end on Sept. 9, isn’t likely to happen.
McConnell told a Kentucky radio station Thursday that he would like the Senate to hold bipartisan talks on gun issues in September.
“If we do it prematurely it will just be another frustrating experience. … I think this is the best way to get a result,” the majority leader said.
The push to broaden FBI background checks of prospective gun purchasers was touched off by the massacre of 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December of 2012.
The legislation never received the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate. But two background check bills were approved by the House, which is now controlled by Democrats, in February.
One would require the FBI to vet gun sales by individuals over the internet and at gun shows. The other would extend the FBI’s three-day deadline to investigate a prospective gun purchaser to as many as 20 business days. Proponents say extending the deadline would eliminate the “Charleston Loophole” that allowed white supremacist Dylann Roof, who killed nine African-Americans at a church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, to buy a gun despite pending felony drug charges against him.
Signers of the letter included some Republicans and mayors representing cities and towns that have suffered from mass shootings, including El Paso, Parkland and Orlando, Fla.
Red flags
Schumer has called for the Senate to return from its recess to vote on the House background check bills.
After the weekend’s mass shootings, which killed 31 people and injured dozens, Democrats and gun control activists believe they have public support on their side and have pledged to keep the pressure on McConnell, who is up for reelection next year in a deeply red state.
The majority leader is recovering from a fall that resulted in a broken shoulder at his home in Louisville, Ky. Greg Fischer, the mayor of Louisville, was among those who signed the letter to McConnell.
Meanwhile, there is no agreement in Congress on how to respond to the violence.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday before visiting Dayton and El Paso, said there “was great appetite for background checks.”
But National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre spoke to the president recently and told him tightening background checks would not be popular among Trump’s supporters.
Trump and GOP congressional leaders have also indicated they would be open to considering a national “red flag,” or extreme risk protection order law, something Connecticut pioneered in 1999 . Those laws allow the confiscation of weapons from those who are believed to be a danger to themselves and others.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is working with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on a bill that would create a federal grant program to encourage states to adopt “red flag” laws.
“These grants will be given to law enforcement so they can hire and consult with mental health professionals to better determine which cases need to be acted upon,”Graham said in a statement. “This grant program also requires robust due process and judicial review. It does allow for quick action.”
Graham said he spoke with Trump on Monday about the proposal and that the president “seems very supportive.”
Schumer, however, said Senate approval of a red flag law is not enough.
“The notion that passing a tepid version of an extreme risk protection order bill—alone—is even close to getting the job done in addressing rampant gun violence in the United States is wrong and would be an ineffective cop out,” Schumer said.
Schumer also criticized the voluntary nature of the Blumenthal-Graham approach.
Instead of a mandate, Schumer said, the bill would “just provide grant incentives for states to implement laws of their own, which runs the risk of doing more harm than good in the long run if states decide to take up weaker laws.”
Blumenthal, meanwhile, said “our goal is to save as many lives as possible, as quickly as possible, through commonsense steps that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”
Although Blumenthal is drafting a red flag bill, he said he supports other gun measures, too, including a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines; safe storage laws; and a repeal of gun manufacturers’ legal immunity from certain liability.
Gun control advocates are also continuing to push for more than background check or red flag laws, including a ban on assault weapons.
“Weapons that belong on the front lines in war zones were used by gunmen in Dayton, El Paso and Gilroy to brutally murder and injure innocent Americans in matter of seconds and minutes. This should frighten every American,” said Po Murray, chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance. “We will continue to remind Congress and Donald Trump that if it can happen in Sandy Hook then it can happen anywhere to anyone no matter their political affiliation.”
Cave on one demand and there will be a new demand the following day. That’s how they operate. Always have, always will
These politicians who have no problem denying an American citizen their Right to the presumption of innocence as well as their Constitutional Right to due process (5th and 14th Amendments) in order to improperly seize property (4th Amendment) and violate their Second Amendment Rights have no problem aiding and abetting Illegal Aliens (the official DOJ term) and granting them Rights and Privileges reserved for citizens.
There’s something very very wrong with that.
It is past time to act. There is ONE UNDENIABLE FACT: Every incident of mass shootings has involved a gun(s) in the hands of an individual(s) who is not of a rational mind at the time of the shooting. Common sense reforms will help protect innocent lives and will not infringe upon any citizens right to legally own a gun. National legislation will not prevent every future incident of gun violence; but it will prevent some. Every day that passes, more guns end up in the hands of individuals who would not pass reasonable background and red-flag checks. Mitch McConnell and others are ignoring the will of the majority of Americans. He was elected by the people of his district and serves for those people – not for special interests – and he owes his constituent’s a vote. It is time to see where each Senator stands on this issue. It is past time to act. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/time-excuses-has-long-past-take-action-leo-karl-iii/?trackingId=3XTybxvdSfKLQI2whRcf0w%3D%3D
So I want to ask our legislators one question. What law would have prevented Adam Lansa from using the guns his parent owned to kill his mother and elementary students? Total ban on semi-automatic weapons would not have prevented this tragedy! Any pistol or rifle can be fired at a rapid rate if the user knows the weapon. There are many semi-automatic weapons that are not used for law enforcement or any type of home defense. This is just another Blummenthal and Murphy getting in front of a camera. If the red flag laws are the answer, would they have removed all guns from the Lansa household? Would banning all semi-automatic weapons prevent the thousands of murders that are happening in the most gun restrictive cities in America?
Enforcing the existing gun laws on the books would be a great start. I am all for closing the gun show loop hole but making law enforcement stick to updating their databases is vital to background checks. Having a pending conviction of a felony should have prevented the Root from buying any weapon but that was not in the database just like the Florida shooter ‘s issues were not in the database based on a law that protected mental health issues from being entered into the database.
Enforce existing laws then go after the mental health issues that should be in the database.
Can they even find McConnell? He is the most elusive legislator in the world and the reason nothing has been done about our gun laws. He hides out in his secret office in the Capitol, only appearing when needed. He ignores and runs from anyone with differing opinions than his hard right conservative values, dismissing them. He is a puppet of the NRA and big business (Koch Brothers) and is probably the worst leader this country has ever had. He is the poster child for Congressional term limits. As a Republican, I find the man to be despicable and the reason the Republican Party is failing. It is out of touch with the modern world.