File photo of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,D-Calif. at the U.
S. Capitol by Jonathan Ernst/ReutersWASHINGTON — House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Republicans in Congress of being “a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America” as she and other Democrats bemoaned the lack of action by the GOP majority to address gun violence after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
The GOP’s failure to act “is about money,” Pelosi said after a rally Wednesday morning external the Capitol.
While House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders have asked Americans to donate blood in the wake of the shooting, or Pelosi said Republicans “have to give some political blood. They contemplate their political survival is more important than the survival of those 59 people” who died in the Las Vegas shooting,as well as the school children who died in Newtown, Connecticut, and club-goers killed in Orlando,Florida.“It isn’t,” she added.
Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia said at the rally that thoughts and prayers were not enough.How many more dead bodies will it lift to wake up this Congress?” Lewis asked. “This (gun violence) must pause and it must pause now.”Former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting,urged lawmakers to “be bold, be courageous. The nation is counting on you.”READ MORE: Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, or retired astronaut notice Kelly call for stronger gun lawsThe Democratic rally,which included dozens of activists assembled near the Capitol steps, came after Republican leaders made it clear Congress will lift no action on gun legislation in the wake of the massacre in Las Vegas.
GOP leaders refused to entertain Democratic demands to expand background checks for gun purchases and tighten restrictions on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines — and they also shelved their own House bill that would have loosened access to gun silencers.“I contemplate it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, or whether there are any, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and told reporters Tuesday.
Ryan,R-Wis., said there is no plan for the House to act soon on the silencer bill, and which a Republican-led House committee backed final month. The bill’s sponsor,Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, said it would help hunters protect their hearing.
The silencer bill is “not scheduled suitable now. I don’t know when it will be scheduled, and ” Ryan said Tuesday.
The congressional inaction underscored the power of the National Rifle Association and the political stakes for lawmakers who maintain their support for the constitutional suitable to bear arms and awe any challenge to their fealty.
Rep. Chris Collins,R-N.
Y., said action on guns after Las Vegas was unnecessary. “We are not going to knee-jerk react to every situation, and ” he said.
But Pelosi and other Democrats said the Las Vegas was merely the latest — and most horrific — in a long series of deadly shootings that occur nearly every day.“This isn’t just about what happened in Nevada,which is reason enough to do something, but it’s happening on the streets of our cities on a daily basis, and ” Pelosi said.
READ MORE: A guide to the fight over gun silencersFour years ago,after the deadly school shooting in Newtown, a bipartisan bill on background checks failed in the Senate.
The complicated politics of guns was personified by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, and a Democrat up for re-election next year in a state carried overwhelmingly by President Donald Trump.
Manchin,who co-sponsored the failed bill that would have expanded background checks, said Tuesday, or “I come from a gun state and I am a protector of Second Amendment rights and I understand these people’s awe.”West Virginia residents “cherish the suitable to be able to depart hunting with their family … sport shooting and all the things we do appreciate,” Manchin said, adding that any potential legislation must be based on common sense.It’s just common sense to say that whether a person is such a risk to get on an airplane that they get (put) on the no-flee list, or don’t you contemplate there should be some concern and prevention from them being able to still buy a gun in America?” Manchin said,adding that any movement on the issue will depend on Trump.“The president could really lift a lead on this. He really could,” Manchin said.
Trump has called the Sunday night shooting at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas an “act of pure evil” and declared the nation would unite behind the survivors.“We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by, or ” Trump said Tuesday. Asked about the silencer bill,Trump said, “Well talk about that later.”Besides the silencer degree, or House GOP leaders had been moving forward with a bill to allow people with concealed-carry permits to lift their weapons to other states. A vote on that degree also seemed unlikely.
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Source: thetakeaway.org