Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that strengthening background checks and red flag laws will “lead the discussion” on addressing gun violence in the wake of two mass shootings that left at least 31 people dead.
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McConnell’s remarks on a Kentucky news radio show follow a conversation he had Thursday morning with President Donald Trump, who has called for revisiting stricter background checks for gun buyers as well as red flag laws, which allows authorities to limit a person’s access to guns if they pose an imminent threat to others.
“The president called me this morning about this, he’s anxious to get an outcome. So am I,” said McConnell, who added that he spoke to Trump about starting staff-level discussions about reforming the nation’s gun laws in preparation for the Senate’s return from recess in September.
During the radio show, McConnell reiterated his call for Democrats and Republicans to come up with a bipartisan legislative solution. He described red flag laws and expanding background checks as “two items that for sure will be front and center.”
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On Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called on Trump to bring the Senate back from recess to consider gun control legislation the House passed earlier this year, citing a section in the Constitution that allows a president to convene the Senate or House. McConnell has resisted calls to bring the Senate back.
“If we did that we’d just have people scoring points and nothing would happen,” McConnell said. “There has to be a bipartisan discussion here of what we can agree on. If we do it prematurely it will just be another frustrating experience for all of us and for the public.”
Several Republican senators have come out in favor of red flag laws following the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that he was working on such a bill with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also has his own red flag bill that he introduced earlier this year.
Trump’s public support for stricter background checks has given new life to legislation from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would expand background checks to all commercial gun sales. But most Republicans have historically resisted that idea, and the proposal has failed twice in the Senate. McConnell was among the Senators who voted against it.
“It’s always a challenge making federal legislation because we do have a lot of differences in our country over an issue like this,” McConnell said.
McConnell also addressed the recent controversy surrounding his campaign’s Twitter account, which Twitter shut down after it posted a video of protesters yelling threats outside the majority leader’s Kentucky home. McConnell accused Twitter of political bias, noting that the social media site allowed the hashtag #MassacreMitch to trend nationally on the platform after the weekend massacres.
“Twitter is perfectly fine with carrying ‘Massacre Mitch’ which is obviously an invitation to violence but when those kinds of words are directed at me they shut us down, locked our account down,” McConnell said. “So we’re in a major war with them and they haven’t given up yet.”
Original story: www.politico.com
Subscriber Comments
Comment by:
peltondpCriminals do not buy guns legally, and they do not follow laws, hense the title CRIMINALS! All you are doing is adding more red tape to law abidding gun owners, FFL's, and of course our government that loves red tape.
All this is doing is giving power to a liberal that doesn't like you, to make up a lie that you threatened them, or you have illegal guns, (even if you don't!) it won't matter the reason because the damage will be done, and your life could be ruined!
This has to be stopped!
CRIMINALS WILL STILL BE EVIL AND COMMIT CRIMES!
Comment by:
cturlingtonTERM LIMITS, YES YES YES. agree wholehearted with your post. How many will say "OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HAND"?????????????
Comment by:
preacher walboyYeah, here's the real deal folks; Once you open the door for this so-called "red flag" rule...There's no closing it! Y'all must remember the same s__t back in the 90's, when school kids were encouraged to "tell" on anyone that hurt or abused them...This resulted in untold numbers of parents (& other family members) being investigated by authorities, just because kids said they were beaten...which actually was a good spankin' for bad behavior. If this rule goes legal, we'll have neighbors, family, co=workers, & even strangers reporting anyone they don't like or even feel that you shouldn't posess a firearm!
And; keep in mind this latest trend of left-heads calling for war on "White Nationalists"...I don't know about you; but, I define a white nationalist as a european-related caucasion person that loves & shows pride in their country! You feel me here? There's a serious majority of us here that would fit that description!!! Best be for contacting all representatives you can to try to quash this hateful movement, before it gains too danged much momentum to stop it!!! Together with the enhanced anti-gun laws, as well as this targeted group, labeled as white Nationalist; I smell sewer like I never have...
Comment by:
PATRIOTUSA1CATERING TO DEMOCRATS AGAIN......F.B.I. INFORMATION SHOWS GUN OWNERSHIP IS UP OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES, AT THE SAME TIME GUN VIOLANCE IN NUMBERS IS DOWN IN POPULATION NUMBERS. WHAT ABOUT GANGS, CHICAGO IN JUST ONE CASE; THERE'S PLACES POLICE WILL "NOT" GO , AT LEAST WITHOUT S.W.A.T.......BY THE WAY CRIMINALS AS SHOOTERS OF PEOPLE, GANGS , CARTELS AND IDIOTS WILL "NOT" HAVE TO NOR GO BY THESE LAWS THAT WE HAVE TO MANY OF NOW..... IT'S GOING TO BE A SCAM FOR DEMOCRATS TO END UP KNOWING WHAT EVERONE HAS TO LEAD TO CONFINSCATION.....LET'S LOOK AT HISTORY; FOR 100'S OF YEARS OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE SAID WE CAN'T INVADE THE U.S. THERE'S A GUN BEHIND EVERY BLADE OF GRASS AND THEY KNOW HOW TO USE THEM.....IT'S NOT JUST A HUNTING ISSUE, IT'S SELF PROTECTION, PROTECTION OF INOCENT BY STANDERS, AND OUR COUNTRY... LAWS ONLY EFFECT "LAW ABIDING CITIZENS PERIOD"...AS I SAID CRIMINALS DO "NOT" GO BY LAWS PERIOD. WE HAVE LAWS ON THE BOOKS , WE HAVE BACK GROUND CHECKS OR BY LAW YOU DON'T GET ONE LEGALLY THE KEY WORD BY THE WAY; CRIMINALS WILL BE ILLEGAL BECAUSE THEY ARE ILLEGAL IN OWNING , POSSING AND BUYING , IT HASN'T EFFECTED GABGS, CARTELS OR ILLEGALS EVER. WHY NOT GO AFTER GANGS , ILLEGALS IN GENERAL. I'LL TELL YOU WHY THEY ARE SCARED TO, IT TAKE AN EFFORT, BUT WE THE PEOPLE , LAWFUL PEOPLE ARE EASY TARGETS. LET THAT SOAK IN NEXT ELECTION CYCLE. PASSING MORE LAWS IS B.S...... A CRIMINAL OR CRIMINAL WANT'A BEE WILL BE A CRIMINAL PERIOD. GUNS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM UNTIL BANS ARE PUT IN THEN BY GOD WAR WILL BREAK OUT NATION WIDE BY INVATION HISTORY WILL REPEAT IT'S SELF. WE ALL FEEL FOR VICTIMS, THAT WILL NOT STOP IDIOTS FROM COMITTING CRIMINAL ACTS, IF THEY CAN'T GET A GUN, A BOMB, A TRUCK LOADED WITH GAS OR OTHER EXPLOSIVES, KNIVES, A BOW AND ARROW, THE LIST GOES ON....THESE STATES PASSING POT FOR SALE BY THE STATES, A KILLING WAITING TO HAPPEN. LAZINESS, KIDS SMOKED UP WATCHING , KILLING ON VIDEO GAMES SO FRIGIN HIGH THEY FEEL NO SOULS....THEY GO OFF, KILLINGS COME NATURAL....IT'S A COMBO, NOT JUST VIDEO GAMES....DON'T FEED ME THAT B.S. THAT POT ISN'T A GATEWAY DRUG TO HARDER DRUGS I'VE SEEN IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN PEOPLE SMOKED UP, THE EXPENCE THEY RUN OUT OF THEIR SSI THEY GO TO A FRIEND GET METH TO GET HIGH ON ECT......CRIME RATE WILL GO UP THE MORE STATES SELL POT, WAIT AND SEE, MONEY RUNS OUT , THEY WILL STEAL, LEADING TO KILLINGS AND SO ON.....IT'S ALL SAD THEY WAY POLITICANS TINK THESE DAYS , SAD.....UNTIL TERM LIMITS OR PEOPLE WAKE UP AND REPLACE SOME OF THESE IDIOT PASSING B.S. ....CRIME GOES ON AND GET WORSE, SO SOAK IT UP BUTTER CUPS REMEMBER NEXT ELECTION CYCLE HOW YOU IN REALITY SOMETHING WE SEE LITTLE OF TODAY, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, A "REAL" DIFFERENCE, VOTE OUT THE SOCIAL PERIAS, VOTE IN REAL PATRIOTS , REAL AMERICANS.
Comment by:
BigmezDear Mr President, if these new gun laws on stricter background checks are more than they state!!! If you pass this the country will be another socialist country going down the drain, if you pass this I’ll be surprised if you get re-elector, I for one won’t even get out of bed to go vote, by the time elections are here we could be in another CIVIL WAR, if they try to collect all the FIREARMS FROM THE PEOPLE, it certainly wouldn’t matter who is CROWNED KING, I saw this coming, didn’t ever think I’d be shouldering a weapon against the country I LOVE, and ALREADY FOUGHT FOR IN VIETNAM, you do this and we’ll know you didn’t mean what you said. GOD BLESS US ALL
Comment by:
GWHey Fred. Good to hear from you. Regarding the "loophole fact." If you are all the things you said, retired LEO, possess an FFL and a gun show seller for 20 years, I have to ask, when you observed all of this loop-hole activity what did you do about it? I am guessing you brought this activity to the attention of the gun show owners so they could remove the offending individuals. Or were these private citizens simply trying to sell their personal firearm to an interested third party?
The tone of your post suggests you are really agitated about the "loophole." Did either of the two murders who shot up El Paso of Dayton get their firearms from a gun show via a loophole? If I remember and providing the news accounts are correct, I believe not. While I am not opposed to your views, they would not have had any effect on what just happened. I also need to challenge, can you prove that an inordinate number of firearms find their ways into the large cities like NY, LA, Chicago, etc? SHow me proof and I might be inclined to support your views. Otherwise, not so much. THanks for your opinion.
Protect 2A
Comment by:
buffalo0neI oppose any and all "Red Flag" laws, in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. The very thought of removing the God given right to self-defense from a person{s} without Due Process is a criminal act that goes against all of the guarantees provided by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The government has no business or right to infringe upon our independence and any politician that tells you they do is lying. Show me ONE gun law that would have prevented any of the recent mass-murders? Even when more than sufficient information is available, Government refuses to act....Parkland murderer.....Boston Massacre...and countless others.
There have already been numerous deaths of private citizens at the hands of law enforcement personnel that were enforcing "red flag" orders....where is the outrage?
I'm sick and tired of one by one giving up our rights without our consent and by crooked politicians....they take an oath to defend the Constitution.........and then they enact illegal legislation.
Know your rights people!
Read the Constitution!
Elect Constitutional Representation!
Comment by:
rthomas4FredPickler, what state do you reside in where the type of gun sales you described above occur at gun shows? I live in SC, and other than one or two dealers who are selling blackpowder firearms and very high end collectables, the only people I've ever seen selling a firearm without a background check are individuals who walk around with a "for sale" sign on a gun they want to sell. I happen to work with a FFL dealer and we even perform background checks for those individual sellers and their buyers on occasion. Also, whenever a customer approaches our booth and asks "do you perform background checks?" we immediately tell them most definitely as do all of the FFL dealers at this show. We know that when a potential buyer asks that question 99% of the time they know that it's impossible for them to pass a NICS background check, or they wouldn't inquire. BTW, here in SC and in Georgia, no outside sales are allowed at any gun show and anyone caught attempting to do so is subject to removal from the premises and potential arrest. Another thing is that no conversion kits are allowed to be sold in SC or Ga. and the gun show promoter simply wouldn't allow any one to violate those rules since they could lose their promoter's license.
Comment by:
jvonspreckenYa right! The Democrats said their is no background checks! They want to know where your firearms are and how many so they can bring force to take them from you!!
Comment by:
jvonspreckenWhat the Communist Democrats and the Two mouthed Rino's need to do is stop all the illegal guns coming across the border by the cartels on the backs of illegal alien migrants to! But no this is not a problem to the politicians! It is better to blame the citizens for all the loopholes than enforce illegals! We are just a few steps from complete tyranny!!!!!!
Comment by:
GunClingerYou are an FFL you have a economic interest in stopping private sales, I don't know a dealer that doesn't . You forgot to mention that these so called license less dealers are already breaking the law, it is unlawful to sell guns for the purpose of making a profit without a FFL license. You slide over the fact that both of the latest shooters obtained their firearms from a FFL dealer legally, with people like you supposedly on our side we don't need the antis anymore.
Comment by:
FredPicklerThe "gun show" loophole is a fact. There are a number of sellers that frequent Gun Shows laying handguns and long guns on tables and a very large number of unlicensed-no paperwork-no background check sellers are engaged in trafficking firearms-and some for many years-could not give a tinkers damn about whom they sell a firearm to, have no record of the sale and definitely no background check are the persons that cause so much of the illegal, untracable firearms to get into illegal hands. Many of these "scumbags" also move about the entrances of Gun Shows and purchase firearms from unwitting persons, never asking for mIdentification, never preparing a bill of sale and the next gunshow they are right back at selling without any paperwork or background checks. All these scumbags are interested in is the almighty dollars they gain in illegal sales.An inordanate number of the firearms that find their way into the large cities like NY, ,LA, Chicago, etc. into the hands of a punk that has no value of a human life come from this "gun show" loophole. I have held a Federal Firearms License for over 50 years, am a Patron Life Member of the NRA, a former law enforcement officer, and a gun show seller for nearly 20-years. I have been approached by straw purchasers many times, denied the sale of a firearm to a person even after they were cleared by NICS, and have had more than a dozen background checks deny the transfer of a firearm since NICS was brought into the system.
It is my firm belief we must get a handle on these illegal sales, we must stop,the sale of flamethrowers (seriously) conversion kits which make a semi-automatic firearm a full automatic firearm, and the gutless US Attorneys need to get off their throne and vigoursly prosecute any violation of the Federal Firearms laws on the books now.
Persons convicted must be sentenced Day for Day for violation of the laws on the books and a minimun of 5 years in Prison.
Comment by:
Merton43The main sticky problem with Red Flag Laws is they are totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL, PERIOD! You cannot punish anyone for something you think they may do! Our system of government and laws Punishes for the offense COMMITTED!
Comment by:
BeachhawkI think Mitch McConnell is trying to satisfy both sides of this issue. Instead I suspect he will only offend both. He should stand up to the Democrats and remind them that we kill nearly 20,000 people a year on the highways, 10,000 of whom are killed by drunk drivers. That is many, many more people killed by drunks and careless drivers than have ever been killed by guns, but I have not heard a single Democrat demand that we ban automobiles or booze. I will happily surrender my firearms when every Democrat surrenders his or her automobile and swears off alcohol.
Comment by:
OrganizdOnly one way to stop this insane red flag legistration, Come 2020. “ Every legislator who puts his stamp of approval on RED FLAG LEGISLATION Must be voted out of office. The voters need to send a definitive message, We will not tolerate this type of end run government antics.
Comment by:
jrw40113I know my comment may create some angst but here goes. I spent 20 years in the military and 13 years as a municipal police officer. I am a gun owner and strong defender of the 2nd Ammendment. I have watched as the left has continually put more and more restrictions on lawful gun owners, and I am tired of it. That being said the current Instant Background Check System has some faults that need to be worked on, but most of those fixes come about because many jurisdictions, courts and federal agencis fail t do what they are required to do. From failing to input criminal records, arrests, and guilty findings to prosecuters failing to prosecute crimes and pleading charges away to ATF failing to recover guns from people who fail their background checks but got them because the system timed out, to the system failing to appropriately identify those who are mentally ill enough to warrant not possessing guns. I would back a background check system for private sales where I as the seller could call in and conduct the check without filling out a form or going through a FFL. As soon as a system involves a FFL, costs are incured and a paperwork trail is started. I would support a Red Flag law where the due process rights of the "accussed" were protected and before any guns are removed there is a court hearing where evidence is required, not just the ramblings of someone who is angry at the accussed. I would also require that if the accusser is found to have abused the reporting system there be a monetary penalty and or a criminal action taken against that person. Unless and until these protections could be guaranteed I am against changing the system.
Comment by:
MikHere’s the problem. When you cave to the demands of the progressive left they don’t stop. Our Rights will be stripped incrementally and when they are confident they will nullify the Second Amendment. That is the goal. You won’t be able to have a Air Soft rifle let alone a firearm .
Contact you representatives and in a sane and respectful manner explain why they should vote against any more gun control laws.
Comment by:
Rev. GWhy don’t they just make murder illegal? If laws stop criminals, that should do the trick. If criminals break laws, then no law they concoct will stop determined bad guys.