Wednesday 8 June 2022 06:07 PM Nancy Pelosi brings eight gun bills to the House floor today trends now
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged all Democratic lawmakers to be on the House floor Wednesday for a series of votes on eight gun reform bills.
She's asked lawmakers to be there for the full period of debate, which is expected to last all afternoon, 'on behalf of the survivors of gun violence, and out of respect for those who lost their lives.'
The recent rash of mass shootings, including ones at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, have put pressure on lawmakers to pass some type of legislation. Those two shootings last month - just nine days apart – left 31 people dead.
President Joe Biden also has encouraged Congress to act and referred to Tuesday night's primary results where voters, particularly in California, showed their frustration with rising crime rates.
'The voters sent a clear message last night. Both parties have to step up and do something about crime as well as gun violence,' Biden said before he headed to Los Angeles to host the Summit of the Americas.
The package of bills the House will vote on Wednesday includes provisions to limit magazine sizes, increase the age to buy assault rifles, set standards for gun storage and codify regulations on ghost guns and bump stocks.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged all Democratic lawmakers to be on the House floor Wednesday for a series of votes on eight gun reform bills
The recent rash of mass shootings, including ones at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, (above) has put pressure on lawmakers to act
The gun bills are expected to pass in the House, where Democrats hold a majority
House Republican Leadership is encouraging all their lawmakers to vote against the final package, known as the Protecting Our Kids Act.
Rep. Steve Scalise conceded that some Republicans may vote for certain provisions in the series of eight votes but said, overall, the GOP was pushing to vote no on the final package.
He compared the mass shootings in schools to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
'Airplanes were used that day, as the weapon to kill thousands of people and to inflict terror on our country. There wasn't a conversation about banning airplanes,' he said
