Pelosi defies demands from Democrats to bring back the House to vote on gun controls

Nancy Pelosi on Monday defied calls from some Democrats to return to Washington and vote on gun control legislation, arguing the party should focus on pressuring Mitch McConnell to bring up in the Senate a background check measure the House passed earlier this year.

‘The president and Mitch McConnell have to feel the public sentiment on this. We have a golden opportunity to save lives,’ Pelosi said on a call with Democratic lawmakers, according to Politico. 

‘The grim reaper said he is not going to bring them up,’ she added, using her nickname for the Senate Republican leader. ‘This is where we have to go.’

Pelosi urged her members to hold firm against the Republican-controlled Senate as pressure increased on lawmakers to make a move after 31 people died in two mass shootings over the weekend.  

Nancy Pelosi defied calls from some Democrats to return to Washington and vote on gun control legislation

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring up House-passed background check legislation in the Senate

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring up House-passed background check legislation in the Senate 

Democrats – from House and Senate leaders to the 2020 presidential candidates – put the pressure on McConnell to act.  

But McConnell is highly unlikely to call the Senate back in session. 

He tweeted his outrage at the shootings but said nothing about returning to Washington D.C. 

‘The entire nation is horrified by today’s senseless violence in El Paso. Elaine’s and my prayers go out to the victims of this terrible violence, their families and friends, and the brave first responders who charged into harm’s way,’ he wrote on Saturday.

‘Sickening to learn this morning of another mass murder in Dayton, Ohio overnight. Two horrifying acts of violence in less than 24 hours. We stand with law enforcement as they continue working to keep Americans safe and bring justice,’ he noted on Sunday. 

In a statement on Monday McConnell called for both chambers of Congress to work with the president on legislation that can pass through the legislative branch and by signed by Trump.

‘Only serious, bipartisan, bicameral efforts will enable us to continue this important work and produce further legislation that can pass the Senate, pass the House, and earn the president’s signature. Partisan theatrics and campaign-trail rhetoric will only take us farther away from the progress all Americans deserve,’ he said in a statement.

He did not address calls to bring the Senate into session.  

Because of the low chances of the Senate Republican leader bringing legislation to the floor, some House lawmakers on Monday’s call said their chamber should take immediate action.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said his panel could return to Capitol Hill and vote on additional gun-related bills, including an assault weapons ban, the news website reported, citing sources on the call. 

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson also announced a series of hearings around the country to address the national and personal security threat of white supremacy and domestic terrorism, starting next week. 

The internecine struggle among Democrats comes after a pair of mass shootings over the weekend: in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday where 22 people died and Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday where nine died. 

The El Paso suspect left a 2,300-word manifesto that raged about the ‘Hispanic invasion of Texas,’ posting it online minutes before the shooting began on Saturday at a Wal-Mart in the Southern border city. The FBI is treating the shooting as a domestic terrorism attack. In Dayton, Ohio, the 24-year-old shooter was also a white man. 

Democratic Representative Katie Hill of California called the situation a ‘national emergency.’

‘I believe the House should come back from recess as well to prepare additional legislation that has overwhelming public support to send to the Senate,’ she said on the call, Politico reported. 

But Pelosi told lawmakers she spoke to families who have been victims to gun violence and they want to focus to be on the background legislation because they believe it would save the most lives, CNN reported. 

The speaker also said that no legislation is off the table but it was all in the timing and, for now, the focus should stay on McConnell. 

She said the House would return if the Senate made the first move.  

‘The House stands ready to return to pass legislation, if the Senate sends us back an amended bipartisan bill or if other legislation is ready for House action,’ she said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues after the call ended.  

Both the House and Senate are in recess throughout the month of August and will return to Washington D.C. after Labor Day.  

House Democrats passed two pieces of legislation in February to address mass shootings. One required background checks for all firearms sales, including those purchased online and at gun shows, and the other extended the background check review period to 10 days from three days.

Trump vowed to veto both measures.

‘By overly extending the minimum time that a licensed entity is required to wait for background check results, H.R. 1112 would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm. For this reason, the Administration opposes the legislation,’ the administration said in a statement.  

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement calling on McConnell to take action in the Senate

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement calling on McConnell to take action in the Senate

McConnell has not brought up either piece of legislation in the Senate. 

Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement calling on McConnell to act on legislation that would expand background checks to all firearms sells. 

‘It is incumbent upon the Senate to come back into session to pass this legislation immediately,’ the leaders said. 

They also slammed President Donald Trump as a ‘prisoner to the gun lobby and the NRA.’  

Some Democrats running for president also issued the call to McConnell to bring the Senate back into session.

 ‘Get off your a*s, Mitch McConnell,’ Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan, who represents Dayton, where nine died in Sunday’s mass shooting, said on CNN. 

‘You’ve protected Donald Trump but particularly on this one and it’s time for the Senate to get off their rear ends and do something about it,’ he added. 

Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar all called on McConnell to bring the Senate back to vote on the background check legislation.   

Trump, on Monday morning, tweeted a suggestion for ‘stronger background checks’ but he did not mention the idea in remarks later in the day.  

Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan, who represents Dayton, where nine died in Sunday's mass shooting, told McConnell to 'get off your a*s'

Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan, who represents Dayton, where nine died in Sunday’s mass shooting, told McConnell to ‘get off your a*s’

Joe Manchin

Pat Toomey

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (left) and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (right) spoke to Trump Monday about their legislation to expand background checks

Instead, the president blamed the internet, social media, computer games and ‘mental illness’ for the two mass shootings that killed 30 people this weekend and finally spoke out against ‘white supremacy’ after being accused of fueling hatred with his own language. 

‘Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,’ he said. 

‘The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online, consumed by racist hate. In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.

‘These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul,’ he stated.

Trump has expressed support for stronger background checks before.  

In February 2018, after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17, the White House said ‘the president is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system.’ 

The president also, at the time, briefly supported a plan to raise the age to purchase a gun but then changed his mind. 

He also expressed interest in bipartisan legislation from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey that would expand background checks to private and online sales but the White House ultimately did not come out and support the measure.  

However, Manchin said he’d spoken to Trump Monday, as had Toomey, and the president seemed open to backing their bill now.

‘This morning, we both separately discussed with President Trump our support for passing our bipartisan legislation to strengthen background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, and terrorists while respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners and all Americans. The president showed a willingness to work with us on the issue of strengthening background checks,’ he said.

‘Mass shootings and violent gun crimes are tragic American problems. It is past time for Congress to take action and the Manchin-Toomey background check legislation represents an opportunity to make actual bipartisan progress to help keep Americans safe.’

President Donald Trump was under heavy pressure on Monday to condemn white nationalism

President Donald Trump was under heavy pressure on Monday to condemn white nationalism

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Monday he plans to propose bipartisan legislation to encourage more states to adopt 'red flag' laws and spoke to Trump about it

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Monday he plans to propose bipartisan legislation to encourage more states to adopt ‘red flag’ laws and spoke to Trump about it

And Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Monday he plans to propose bipartisan legislation to encourage more states to adopt ‘red flag’ laws.

‘I spoke with the President this morning about this proposal and he seems very supportive,’ Graham said in a statement. ‘Many of these shootings involved individuals who showed signs of violent behavior that are either ignored or not followed up. State Red Flag laws will provide the tools for law enforcement to do something about many of these situations before it’s too late.’ 

Trump was under heavy pressure on Monday to condemn white nationalism, after he claimed it wasn’t a global phenomena after a massacre in March. 

He was also being pressed to back bold, new measures to prevent mass murders – including a demand for immediate action from an absent Congress.  

In an El Paso Walmart on Saturday, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius allegedly opened fire, killing 22 and injuring another 26 more. Reports emerged in the hours afterward that he told law enforcement when he was apprehended that his goal was to kill as many Mexicans as possible.

A 2,400-word manifesto also appeared online that was likely authored by Crusius and explains why the shooting occurred. It essentially claims that he was motivated to stop immigrants from repopulating with whites and overtaking America.

The FBI is treating the shooting as a domestic terrorism attack. 

Early on Sunday morning, another shooter, identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, opened fire on a popular street in an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio.

That shooter killed nine people and injured more than two dozen other bystanders. He was shot dead when law enforcement responded to the open fire.

The motivation behind the Ohio shooting remains unknown.

 

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