US Senate aims for modest arms control deal

A cross-party group of US senators was set to resume talks Thursday on a modest gun control bill, at a time when pressure is mounting on USA to stop a wave of violence that includes recent massacres in Texas and the State of New York.

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Nine senators met this week to discuss the response to the mass shootings that have mourned the nation, with some optimism about reforms.

The group has focused on school safety, bolstering mental health services and incentives for states to give courts the ability to temporarily remove guns from people deemed dangerous.

Moderate Republican Susan Collins said the group was making “rapid progress,” while Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he “has never seen more Republicans sitting at the table and willing to talk.”

“There’s something different going on right now and I hope it ends up in legislation before the Senate,” Murphy told MSNBC on Wednesday.

As lawmakers seek to respond to the racist killing of 10 black people in a Buffalo supermarket and a mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead at a Texas school, another massacre occurred in Oklahoma on Wednesday.

A man with a gun and a rifle killed four people at a Tulsa hospital complex, before allegedly killing himself before police arrived.

Lawmakers are aware they risk losing momentum if the urge for reforms sparked by the massacres fades, and a smaller group is holding parallel discussions on expanding background checks on gun buyers.

The political challenge of legislating in an evenly divided Senate, where most legal proposals need 60 votes to pass, means far-reaching reforms have little chance of passing.

Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican senators, told reporters that congressmen are focusing on “mental health and safety in schools,” not guns.

– ‘Leading cause of death’ –

Democrats in the House of Representatives are, however, preparing to pass a much broader but largely symbolic piece of legislation called the “Protecting Our Kids Act” – a package of gun control proposals that includes raising the minimum legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

The package includes vetting high-capacity magazines and background checks on “ghost guns,” homemade weapons from readily available kits.

The proposal will likely pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives next week, before dying to Republican opposition in the Senate.

Given the resistance faced at the federal level, efforts are also being made to promote greater gun control in state legislation.

After the school massacre UvaldeCalifornia congressmen have proposed gun control legislation that includes being able to hold gun manufacturers to civil liability in some cases.

“Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in USA”, declared in a statement the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom.

“As the United States Senate sits idly by and activist federal judges reject common sense gun control laws in our nation, California will act with the urgency this crisis demands.”

The proposal echoes another by New York state lawmakers, who last year passed a law that allows civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers for improper marketing or sale.

A bill to require a purchase permit is moving forward in the Delaware state legislature, while in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked congressmen from this pro-gun state to make “legislative recommendations” in response to the Uvalde shooting.

Advocates for tighter gun restrictions, however, fear a pushback as the Supreme Court prepares to issue its first opinion on the Second Amendment in more than a decade.

Justice is expected to rule in the coming weeks on a dispute over the strict limits that exist in the state of New York for the concealed carrying of firearms outside the home.

A narrow ruling could affect a few states with similar laws, but activists fear the court’s conservative majority will issue a broader decision that clears the way for constitutional challenges to gun safety laws across the country.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.