McConnell Urges GOP to Begin Negotiations With Senate Democrats on Gun Control Legislation

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “encouraged” Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to begin talks with Senate Democrats on gun control legislation in response to the Uvalde school shooting.

McConnell specifically requested Cornyn to work with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to “find a consensus on some legislation to respond to the shooting in Texas,” CNN reported.

NEWS: McConnell tells me he met this morning with Texas Sen. John Cornyn after he returned from Texas and encouraged him to begin discussions with Dems including Sens. Murphy and Sinema to see if they can find a consensus on some legislation to respond to the shooting in Texas.

— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) May 26, 2022

What a POS!

McConnell Urges GOP to Work with Democrats on Gun Control Legislation https://t.co/sv0KbRiwnr via @BreitbartNews

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) May 26, 2022

“I’ve encouraged him to talk to Sen. Sinema, Sen. Murphy and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that’s directly related to the problem,” McConnell said of Tuesday’s mass school shooting.

“I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that’s directly related to the facts of this awful massacre.”

McConnell on what he told Cornyn: “I've encouraged him to talk to Sen. Sinema, Sen. Murphy and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that's directly related to the problem. I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution …

— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) May 26, 2022

McConnell Urges GOP to Work with Democrats on Gun Control Legislation

Every establishment Republican needs to go.

Every.

Single.

One.https://t.co/6b9JHR495p via @BreitbartNews

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) May 26, 2022

Per Breitbart:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told his Democrat colleagues on Wednesday he will push off a gun control vote until he believes there are enough votes to overcome the Senate’s 60 vote threshold.

“One nation under guns. That is simply heartbreaking — heartbreaking to think that this is the legacy that older generations are leaving behind for young Americans, one nation under guns,” Schumer said from the Senate floor.

Schumer also asked Murphy and Sinema to work with Republicans on limiting the Second Amendment.

“I’m going to start having conversations again with colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” Sinema told reporters Wednesday. “If there is a chance for us to do something to help make it safer for kids in this country, we owe it to the country to do it for real, not just talking points.”

Murphy told CNN Wednesday he believes universal background checks and banning rifles should occur in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

“Voters get to decide this. Ask your candidates this fall: ‘Are you supportive of universal background checks? Do you think that 18-year-olds should have access to military-style assault weapons?’ And if they say yes, if they support the current law and don’t support reform, then don’t send them back to Congress,” he said.

Daily Caller added:

Red-flag laws, or extreme risk protection orders, allow law enforcement officials to seek court orders for the purpose of temporarily seizing firearms owned by individuals who appear to be at risk of committing violence. The shooter in Uvalde, Texas repeatedly posted pictures of guns on social media, and cut his face with knives. Police were dispatched to his house on several occasions.

Several Republican senators have previously expressed interest in red-flag laws, which have been passed in 19 states and Washington, D.C., according to the left-wing Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott introduced a bipartisan red-flag law with Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed and Independent Maine Sen. Angus King in 2021, although it has not passed out of committee. Scott signed similar legislation as Governor of Florida in 2018 in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting.

“I think that is the kind of law that could have made a difference in this case, since … it appears that he suffered from mental illness,” Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday of red-flag laws. “It’s my understanding that he bought his weapon legally and passed a background check, so I really think our focus should be on looking at what some states have done, red flag or yellow flag laws.”

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham negotiated a red-flag law in 2019 in the aftermath of shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, although it failed to clear a filibuster. Blumenthal expressed interest in reintroducing the legislation.

“I think there’s common ground on a red flag statute,” he told The Hill, adding that the Senate had “come close” before.