Dem senators say Republicans could join gun control bill after Texas school shooting
Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal spoke to activists and reporters on Thursday morning about the chance for gun control legislation in the Senate.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan Tuesday railed against a package of proposed gun control measures the committee is set to consider this week and said he'll press his members to oppose them entirely.
"I'm going to do everything I can encourage my colleagues to oppose this… hodgepodge of bills that I don't think would have made one difference in tragedies that we've seen recently," Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
Jordan's comment came as the Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday it will hold an emergency meeting later this week to prepare that gun control package for the House floor. Among the issues it will address will be an increase in the age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, banning new high-capacity magazines, tightening regulations on ghost guns and more.
Rep. Jim Jordan speaks to the press in the Rayburn House Office building in Washington on June 4, 2021. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, was first reported by Punchbowl News and confirmed by Fox News. In a tweet, the Judiciary Committee announced that the package of nine bills will be called the "Protecting our Kids Act." The House is expected to vote on that package and red flag legislation next week when lawmakers return to Washington, D.C.
Jordan Tuesday said he believes Democrats are just taking advantage of recent tragedies to advance their agenda. Last week, a gunman killed 21 in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. Earlier this month, a man killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket in an attack that appeared to be racially motivated.
"I think it's just wrong to attack the Second Amendment liberties of law-abiding citizens, and that's what these bills do," Jordan said. "The answer is to make sure you have school facilities secured, and you have security officers who are trained and well-equipped to protect kids and teachers and the educational environment – not these various bills that they've piled into one hodgepodge package."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which will be considering a package of gun bills Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"Democrats, their attitude is never let a crisis go to waste," Jordan added. "They're going to try to do their left-wing assault on the Constitution."
Jordan continued to say that many of the elements in the bills Democrats are bringing up would not have helped stop the shootings in Buffalo or Uvalde. There is already a ban on high-capacity magazines in New York, Jordan said. Neither shooting involved storage issues, bump stocks or ghost guns, Jordan added – all of which are issues the bills Democrats plan to consider Thursday will address.
Jordan also expressed concern about red flag laws, saying, "there's no real due process when you do that."
Law enforcement, and other first responders, gather outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP/Dario Lopez-Mills)
But top House Democrats appear determined to take action in their chamber as a group of senators aims to reach a compromise on more modest legislation – although it's not clear even if a deal is reached there will be enough Republican bills to pass it in the Senate.
"Failure to take action to address gun violence after we witnessed a mass shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 elementary school kids, is not an option," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Fox News Tuesday.
"I am encouraged by the bipartisan conversations in the Senate on legislation that could save lives by taking long-overdue steps to address gun violence. In addition, I have announced the House will take up legislation to create a national ‘red flag’ law to ensure those who pose an immediate threat to themselves or others are unable to possess a firearm."
But if there isn't significant progress soon, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who is leading the talks for Democrats, said he is open to simply punishing Republicans by forcing them to vote on what Democrats say are popular gun control proposals.
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"I'm not gonna negotiate forever," Murphy told reporters last Thursday at a gun control rally outside the Capitol. "So if we can't get some progress by the end of next week, then I'll say to Sen. Schumer, it's time to take votes."
Fox News' Aishah Hasnie and Timothy H.J. Nerrozi contributed to this report.
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