Wednesday 22 June 2022 10:32 PM GOP House leaders are urging rank and file members to vote AGAINST the Senate ... trends now
House Republican leaders oppose the bipartisan Senate gun bill and are formally requesting their rank-and-file members to vote against it.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, told members in a closed-door meeting they opposed the bill and would whip against it.
Scalise wrote in an official notice urging House Republicans to vote no: 'This legislation takes the wrong approach in attempting to curb violent crimes. House Republicans are committed to identifying and solving the root causes of violent crimes, but doing so must not infringe upon' Second Amendment rights.
The legislation is likely to receive support from some moderate Republicans, just as it did in the Senate.
House GOP Whip Scalise wrote in an official notice urging House Republicans to vote no: 'This legislation takes the wrong approach in attempting to curb violent crimes'
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, told members in a closed-door meeting they opposed the bill and would whip against it
Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican who represents Uvalde, Texas announced on Twitter that he would vote for the bill.
'I am a survivor of domestic abuse, my stepfather would come home drunk & beat on me and my mother. One night he decided that wasn’t enough and shoved a shotgun in my mother’s mouth. I was 5 at the time and not strong enough to fend off the wolves,' he said.
'As a Congressman it’s my duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent. In the coming days I look forward to voting YES on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.'
Meanwhile Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said Wednesday he plans to make sure the Senate passes new gun safety legislation by the end of the week, which would mark the first significant congressional action on a gun measure in 30 years.
He spoke after the chamber voted to move to take up compromise legislation with enough votes to signal it could actually make it out of the Senate.
The Senate voted 64-34 to take up the bill Tuesday night after negotiators reached agreement on 80-page legislative language.
'I am pleased Congress is on the path to taking meaningful action to address gun violence for the first time in nearly 30 years,' Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday. 'The bill is real progress. It will save lives, and it is my intention to make sure the Senate passes this bill before the end of the week.'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House will take up the legislation swiftly after it clears the Senate, with lawmakers in both houses eager to be home for the scheduled July 4 recess.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said he intended to make sure gun safety legislation passes by the end of the week
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also praised the compromise, saying the Senate 'took a big step toward an important bipartisan bill to prevent mass murders, make schools safer, and protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. He called the provisions 'commonsense, popular solutions,' after negotiators reached agreement on thorny 'red flag' and 'boyfriend loophole' provisions.
New details were emerging on the text.
The bill includes $300 million for school safety improvements, enhanced background checks for gun purchasers aged 18-21 with provisions that sunset in 2032, and $750 million to help states with red flag laws.
One Republican leader, Senate Minority Whip Sen. John Thune, has already come out against it.
He said it is likely to pass, having surpassed the 60-votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster, but told CNN he would vote against it.
Thune had earlier blasted any assault weapons ban – and the final deal contains no such provisions, citing hunting in his home state of South Dakota.
'In my state, they use them to shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints. And so I think there are legitimate reasons why people would want to have them,' he said.
Other lawmakers "spoke about called AR-15s to kill raccoons, foxes, and feral pigs.
The Senate reached an agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill following horrific mass shootings in Texas and New York.
The legislation would toughen background checks for younger gun buyers, bolster background check requirements and beef up penalties for gun traffickers.
The bill would also prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic abuse who are not married to their victims from getting firearms.
Convicted abusers who are married to, live with or had children with their victims are already barred from having guns.
Additionally, $750million would be provided to the 19 states that have 'red flag' laws making it easier to temporarily take firearms from people adjudged dangerous, and to other states with violence prevention programs.
States with 'red flag' laws that receive the funds would have to have legal processes for the gun owner to fight the firearm's removal.
The bill would disburse money to states and communities to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.
Senate bargainers reached the agreement Tuesday potentially teeing up final passage by week's end.
Though Republicans blocked tougher restrictions sought by Democrats, the accord marks an election-year breakthrough on an issue that pits the GOP's staunch gun-owning and rural voters against Democrats' urban-centered backers of firearms curbs.
Senator Chris Murphy speaking at a press conference on June 14. The democrat was a leader in passing the new gun control legislation
