By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator John Cornyn, the top Republican in talks aimed at improving bipartisan legislation to tackle a plague of mass shootings in the United States, urged the Senate’s top Democrat on Monday to give negotiators enough time to get there. to a deal or fail.
Cornyn and other lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, were due to meet Monday and hope to reach an agreement on gun legislation by the end of the week, following a wave of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Okla.
The negotiations have the approval of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell. But Republicans worry that Schumer may soon make good on his promise to start voting on Democratic gun legislation if the talks appear to be fruitless.
“I hope that the Democratic leader will allow the bipartisan discussions to continue and then wrap up before pulling the plug and scheduling a vote on something that he knows can’t pass,” Cornyn said in a floor speech.
“Good consensus legislation takes time,” the Texas Republican added. “The only way we can get a bill that can pass both houses and get the president’s signature is by taking our time and reaching that consensus.”
Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The negotiations have raised hopes of a rare bipartisan agreement on gun issues in Congress, which is characteristically paralyzed by partisan rancor over the issue.
With the 100-seat Senate split 50-50, the gun legislation would need 10 Republican votes to reach the House’s 60-vote threshold to pass most bills.
But Republicans, who as a party strongly defend America’s constitutional right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, have rejected initiatives such as banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines used in many mass shootings in the United States.
As the White House and Congress struggle to agree on a response to the spate of shootings, the US Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on a New York case that could lead to a sweeping expansion of gun rights.
The leading Democrat in the negotiations, Sen. Chris Murphy, also said it would take time to implement substantial legislation.
“I hear skepticism about how big this package can be. But I’m not going to support anything that doesn’t save lives,” Murphy, a prominent supporter of gun restrictions, told NBC News. “I’m not going to support something that just checks a box.”
Both Murphy and Cornyn said the talks were focusing on a handful of issues including legislation to encourage states to adopt red flag laws to deny firearms to people with mental health conditions, improve school safety, strengthen mental health services and keeping weapons out of the reach of legally prohibited persons. have them
The Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on legislation limiting gun purchases. Cornyn predicted that the legislation would never garner the Republican support necessary to succeed in the Senate, calling it a “doomed partisan bill.”
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Reference-news.yahoo.com