CNN spoke with Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, a day after a school shooting in Nashville that killed three children and three adults.
Top House and Senate Republicans have rejected calls for additional action on guns, seeing no interest in imposing tougher restrictions.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim JordanHis committee has jurisdiction over gun policy, and he said he doesn’t think Congress should restrict assault weapons.
“The Second Amendment is the Second Amendment,” he said. “I believe in the Second Amendment that we should not punish law-abiding American citizens.”
Mori.Lindsey Graham, “I don’t know if there’s a lot of room to do more, but I’ll definitely have a look,” said the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a participant in previous gun legislation talks.
Graham said he was opposed to banning the AR-15, noting that he owns one and that he thought it would be “difficult to enforce a national red flag law.”
Following the shooting in his area yesterday, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles Closed question about banning AR-15 rifles.
Ogles, who represents Nashville, said, “Why not talk about the real problem facing this country? That’s mental health.”
Remember, Ogles posted a photo on Facebook on Christmas 2022 while he was mayor of Murray County showing him and his family standing in front of a Christmas tree with weapons in hand, with the caption: “Anywhere Gun vibes will suppress evil distractions – they deserve all the good credit.”
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin He told reporters he was “not very hopeful” that the Senate would pass gun legislation in this Congress, adding, “but we have to try.”
“This is unique to America, and the people of this country have to ask themselves a fundamental question: Is it enough? Enough of sending your kids and grandkids to school wondering if they’re going to fall victim to an assault rifle?” he said .
He also won after Republicans argued that semiautomatic weapons are constitutionally protected.
“I mean, it’s insane. It’s beyond me to think that some people rationalize it as part of the Second Amendment,” he said.
Despite Republican opposition, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal Insists he hasn’t given up.
“We’ve heard before that gun violence prevention is impossible, but together we’ve made progress. I won’t say no,” he said. “I will continue to seek to recruit my fellow Republicans because they know anger and grief.”
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds Calls for further gun legislation and a ban on the AR-15 have been delayed.
“If you’re going to talk about the AR-15, we’re talking politics right now,” he said. “Let’s not get involved in politics. Let’s not get emotional, because being emotional feels good, but being emotional doesn’t solve the problem.”
Republican Senator Todd Young, Asked whether he supported holding hearings specifically on assault weapons, he said he supported holding hearings to understand what happened during the Nashville shooting.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise Asked whether the shooting would push Congress to address any kind of reform, he demurred.
“When there is any kind of tragedy, the first thing I do is pray. I pray for the victims, I pray for their families. When I see people trying to politicize it for their own personal agenda, I’m really annoyed, especially when we don’t even know the facts or the facts come out,” he said.
“Let’s get the facts. Let’s try to see if there is anything we can do to help keep schools safe,” he said. “We’ve talked about what we can do, but on the other hand, they just want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.”
Scalise was injured in 2017 when a gunman opened fire while the Republican congressman was practicing for an annual charity baseball game.
Democratic caucus chair Rep. Pete Aguilar Saying “Shame on Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy” for not wanting to introduce gun legislation.
Rep. Ted Lau, Vice Chairman of the Democratic Caucus Critic Republicans delayed a Judiciary Committee hearing on guns today.
“Now why are they doing this, if they really believe, as they say, that arming more Americans with more guns, more AR-15s, and more pistol mounts will make us safer? They There would be a hearing and it would be a solution, but they didn’t do that. They ran away. They ran away, they hid,” Lieu said, ending with “cowards.”
Respectively, senate chaplain barry blackwhose role has traditionally been apolitical, called on lawmakers to act on gun violence “beyond thoughts and prayers” in the wake of the shooting.
“Lord, when babies die in missionary schools, it’s time for us to move beyond our thoughts and our prayers,” he said on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson reported on this article.