Sen. Chris Murphy said on Sunday that a bipartisan group of senators was “closer than ever” to drafting a weapons reform package, but acknowledged that it would not include a ban on assault weapons or comprehensive inspections.
The Connecticut Democrat, who is negotiating with colleagues on the other side, said he had not seen the gun talks as “serious” as they are now, after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School 10 years ago.
He said Democrats and Republicans had agreed to take some “reasonable steps” while upholding the rights of Americans under the Second Amendment, but warned that “we will not do whatever I want.”
“We will not put legislation on the table that will ban assault weapons, or we will not go through detailed checks,” the senator told CNN’s State of the Union. ”
“But right now, people in this country want us to make progress. They just don’t want the status quo to last another 30 years.
However, Murphy said he was “sober about our chances” coming from participating in such discussions over the years.
“We’re talking about a meaningful change in our gun laws, a big investment in mental health, maybe a little money for school security that would change,” Murphy said.
Senator Murphy said both Democrats and Republicans have agreed to take some “reasonable steps” toward gun reform. GEORGE FREY / AFP via Getty Images
The measures are likely to include investment in mental health, funds to increase security at school and a change in red flag laws, but he said negotiations are ongoing and senators are “trying to figure out what 60 to 70 votes in the Senate can get.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his colleague Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have resolved bipartisan talks following mass shootings at a Buffalo grocery store that killed 10 people and the massacre at a primary school in Uwalde, Texas, where 21 – including 19 students – died.
In both shootings, gunmen used AR-15-style military assault weapons.
A man fills out a federal form to inspect the weapons range. George Frey / Getty Images
Murphy met with GOP Sens. John Cornin of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine and Tom Tillis of North Carolina.
Others in the discussions include Senator Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), Kirsten Cinema (D-Ariz.) And Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
Tumi, who is working with Manchin on legislation to expand past checks 10 years ago but stopped in the Senate, said he hopes the proposal will be included in the package.
“I don’t know if we will get exactly what Senator Manchin and I developed a few years ago, it would probably be something different. And that’s good, “he told CBS News’s Face the Nation.
Senator Murphy told CNN he may not get “everything he wants” about gun reform. CNN
He said there were “a number of mechanisms” that could be used to expand inspections and that the proposal “makes sense”.
“We all agree that cruel criminals and insane, dangerously mentally ill people should not have firearms. So we need a mechanism to increase the likelihood of identifying such a person and preventing him from buying a weapon legally … and that’s the idea behind expanding checks on the past, “Tumi said.
President Biden, in a rare evening address to the White House nation last week, said the Second Amendment was “not absolute.”
“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban weapons of attack, then we need to raise the age of purchase from 18 to 21, “Biden said, adding that he supports stepping up past checks and passing red flag laws.
House of Representatives minority MP Steve Scaliz, who was injured in a shooting in 2017, said lawmakers should “focus on the root cause of the problems” and not attack the Second Amendment.
“You had members, Democrats, who cursed the Second Amendment. You had members who said, well, if we can’t figure that out, we’ll blow up the filibuster and pack up the Supreme Court to circumvent the Second Amendment, “the Louisiana Republican told Fox News Sunday.
“The second amendment is not a direction, it is part of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, and it is there for a reason, among other things. “Every day in America, people use guns to defend themselves,” he said.
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