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Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand were among those rushing to fill the political void created on Capitol Hill after President Donald Trump told Democrats he agreed with much of their gun-control agenda.
At a news conference, Schumer laid out a three-point Democratic plan to push forward on guns, a legislative agenda that Republicans in the majority have shot down previously.
At the top of the list is expanded background checks, closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” The measure would require background checks on all gun transactions, even those between private parties at gun shows and the internet that under current law need not be cleared through the FBI’s background-check system.
Internet sales across state lines require delivery to a federally licensed gun dealer who conducts a background check. But sales within a state do not require any such check, leading to an online explosion of gun transactions between buyers and sellers who live nearby.
After the Newtown, Conn., mass shooting in 2012, the Senate fell six votes shy of moving forward on this same proposal. Red-state Democrats mindful of the National Rifle Association’s power and a majority of Republicans combined to defeat it.
Democrats have long argued for resurrection of the assault-weapons ban that existed between 1994 and 2004. Republicans and Red-state Democrats have opposed any such bid to outlaw what the gun industry calls “modern sporting rifles.
Schumer on Thursday promised to bring a ban up for debate, but he extended little hope it could win congressional approval.
“Not every member of our caucus will support that ban, but the vast majority will,” Schumer told reporters. “If the president can get some Republicans to vote for the assault weapons ban and he indicated openness to supporting it yesterday, we can pass it soon.”
At the White House meeting Wednesday where Trump expressed approval for much of the Democrats’ cherished gun-control agenda, the president brushed aside the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., author of the original assault-weapons ban, to back reinstating it.
But Trump did not completely close the door on it. The meeting left both Democrats and Republicans scratching their heads on Trump’s sincerity in breaking ranks with the NRA, an organization he has vigorously supported.
Gillibrand took a more aggressive posture on the assault-weapons ban than Schumer, saying Wednesday that a military-style semiautomatic rifle such as the AR-15, used in Newtown and at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida during the Feb. 14 mass shooting, “has no place in the civilian world.”
Schumer also pushed forward on letting family members and friends petition courts to take away guns from individuals shown to be a danger to themselves or others.
Five states have such laws. New York does not, but under the post-Newtown SAFE Act, mental health professionals are obligated to inform local or state law enforcement when a patient exhibit violent symptoms and has access to guns.
According to state Office of Mental Health data, there have been 77,447 such reports since the SAFE Act passed in 2013. Of those, 764 had pistol permits or registered military-style semiautomatic rifles. Permits are not needed for regular hunting-type rifles, except in New York City.
The state Assembly and Senate are considering bills to create “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” similar to those in Connecticut and four other states.
The bill is necessary because the SAFE Act provision “is not thorough enough,” said Pat Tuz, Capital Region coordinator for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
At the White House meeting on Wednesday, Trump came down firmly on the side of widening the reach of extreme-risk protection orders beyond individual states such as Connecticut.
"I like taking guns away early," Trump said. "Take the guns first, go through due process second."
The NRA has cited due-process guarantees as a reason to oppose state attempts to pass such laws.
“Protective orders … infringe on Second Amendment rights based on third party allegations and little, if any, real evidence and limited `due process’ for the respondent,” the NRA said in a brief against a Massachusetts version under debate. “Constitutional rights should only be restricted with proper due process of law.”
Although Trump expressed support for the expanded background-check proposal that most Republicans opposed in 2013, he embraced the NRA-backed idea of arming teachers, veterans and other qualified volunteers to protect schools, as well as eliminating “gun-free zones.”
Schumer and Gillibrand were among the Democrats and potential Republican allies scurrying around Capitol Hill on Thursday to hasten along gun legislation, fearing that the sometimes-chameleon Trump may change his mind under pressure from pro-gun Republicans and the NRA Association.
Schumer did little to hide his wariness that lawmakers may be witnessing a repeat performance of last month’s pledge by Trump to push forward legislation to protect youthful immigrant “Dreamers,” only to backtrack soon after immigration conservatives weighed in.
Unfortunately the president was pulled back by the hard right,” Schumer said. “That cannot happen on guns.”
Schumer, Gillibrand push forward on gun laws after president voices support for limits
At a news conference, Schumer laid out a three-point Democratic plan to push forward on guns, a legislative agenda that Republicans in the majority have shot down previously.
At the top of the list is expanded background checks, closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” The measure would require background checks on all gun transactions, even those between private parties at gun shows and the internet that under current law need not be cleared through the FBI’s background-check system.
Internet sales across state lines require delivery to a federally licensed gun dealer who conducts a background check. But sales within a state do not require any such check, leading to an online explosion of gun transactions between buyers and sellers who live nearby.
After the Newtown, Conn., mass shooting in 2012, the Senate fell six votes shy of moving forward on this same proposal. Red-state Democrats mindful of the National Rifle Association’s power and a majority of Republicans combined to defeat it.
Democrats have long argued for resurrection of the assault-weapons ban that existed between 1994 and 2004. Republicans and Red-state Democrats have opposed any such bid to outlaw what the gun industry calls “modern sporting rifles.
Schumer on Thursday promised to bring a ban up for debate, but he extended little hope it could win congressional approval.
“Not every member of our caucus will support that ban, but the vast majority will,” Schumer told reporters. “If the president can get some Republicans to vote for the assault weapons ban and he indicated openness to supporting it yesterday, we can pass it soon.”
At the White House meeting Wednesday where Trump expressed approval for much of the Democrats’ cherished gun-control agenda, the president brushed aside the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., author of the original assault-weapons ban, to back reinstating it.
But Trump did not completely close the door on it. The meeting left both Democrats and Republicans scratching their heads on Trump’s sincerity in breaking ranks with the NRA, an organization he has vigorously supported.
Gillibrand took a more aggressive posture on the assault-weapons ban than Schumer, saying Wednesday that a military-style semiautomatic rifle such as the AR-15, used in Newtown and at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida during the Feb. 14 mass shooting, “has no place in the civilian world.”
Schumer also pushed forward on letting family members and friends petition courts to take away guns from individuals shown to be a danger to themselves or others.
Five states have such laws. New York does not, but under the post-Newtown SAFE Act, mental health professionals are obligated to inform local or state law enforcement when a patient exhibit violent symptoms and has access to guns.
According to state Office of Mental Health data, there have been 77,447 such reports since the SAFE Act passed in 2013. Of those, 764 had pistol permits or registered military-style semiautomatic rifles. Permits are not needed for regular hunting-type rifles, except in New York City.
The state Assembly and Senate are considering bills to create “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” similar to those in Connecticut and four other states.
The bill is necessary because the SAFE Act provision “is not thorough enough,” said Pat Tuz, Capital Region coordinator for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
At the White House meeting on Wednesday, Trump came down firmly on the side of widening the reach of extreme-risk protection orders beyond individual states such as Connecticut.
"I like taking guns away early," Trump said. "Take the guns first, go through due process second."
The NRA has cited due-process guarantees as a reason to oppose state attempts to pass such laws.
“Protective orders … infringe on Second Amendment rights based on third party allegations and little, if any, real evidence and limited `due process’ for the respondent,” the NRA said in a brief against a Massachusetts version under debate. “Constitutional rights should only be restricted with proper due process of law.”
Although Trump expressed support for the expanded background-check proposal that most Republicans opposed in 2013, he embraced the NRA-backed idea of arming teachers, veterans and other qualified volunteers to protect schools, as well as eliminating “gun-free zones.”
Schumer and Gillibrand were among the Democrats and potential Republican allies scurrying around Capitol Hill on Thursday to hasten along gun legislation, fearing that the sometimes-chameleon Trump may change his mind under pressure from pro-gun Republicans and the NRA Association.
Schumer did little to hide his wariness that lawmakers may be witnessing a repeat performance of last month’s pledge by Trump to push forward legislation to protect youthful immigrant “Dreamers,” only to backtrack soon after immigration conservatives weighed in.
Unfortunately the president was pulled back by the hard right,” Schumer said. “That cannot happen on guns.”
Schumer, Gillibrand push forward on gun laws after president voices support for limits
