Schumer Gives Senators Until End Of Week For Agreement On Gun Control- Some Senators Call For More Time

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has given a group of negotiating senators from both sides of the aisle until the end of this week to strike a deal on proposed gun-control legislation, according to The Hill.

While Schumer said he expected Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) to come up with an agreement by the end of the week, he said he was willing to extend the time.

Making real progress is very important.  Sen. Murphy has asked for space to have the talks continue, and I have given him the space,” Schumer said on Tuesday, according to the Hill.  “I look forward to discussing the status of those talks with my colleagues today.

Murphy, the Democrats’ lead negotiator in the Senate on this round of gun control proposals, told colleagues that the bipartisan group of senators was not ready to present anything to the caucus yet, the Hill reported. 

Murphy claimed that while negotiations are making progress, he also said that proposals to require universal background checks or bans on assault rifles or high-capacity magazines would not be in any bipartisan deal, according to The Hill.

I think we have work to do with our colleagues this week to make sure what we’re talking about can get 60 votes.  I think it can.  I think what we have on the table now can be a consensus package,” Murphy said.  “Obviously, it’s not close to what I want, but it’s meaningful.”

Meanwhile, the Biden Administration continued its push for far more restrictive gun control measures.  Opting for someone who is more coherent than the President to deliver their message, the Administration had Uvalde, Texas-born actor Matthew McConaughey address the press on Tuesday at the White House. 

If McConaughey’s impassioned speech to reporters is any indication, the Administration will continue to show no flexibility.

We need background checks.  We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21.  We need a waiting period for those rifles.  We need red-flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them,” McConaughey told the press.  “These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes.

This rhetoric is closer in line with legislation coming out of the House.  The consensus among political observers is that while Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) gun control package, the so-called Protecting Our Kids Act, should clear the House, it will die in the Senate. 

Such prognostications make the negotiations among the small group senators that much more compelling.

Yet the consensus among some senators is that more time would be needed for negotiations into next week.  Cornyn, who was tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to participate in bipartisan talks, called for more time.

“I don’t believe the Senate will be voting this week because good consensus legislation takes time,” Cornyn said, according to The Hill.  “So I hope Sen. Schumer will let his members work.  There’s no use in rushing a vote on a doomed partisan bill like the House is expected to vote on this week.”

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the Hill that while there are not that many details to pound out in negotiations, the group of senators will probably need beyond Friday to do so.

For his part, Schumer seemed to be open to extending the time for negotiations beyond the end of the week.

“Sen. Murphy expects he can come to an agreement with Sen. Cornyn by the end of the week, and I expect to give him that time, Schumer said, according to The Hill.  “If they don’t come to that agreement, we’ll see what happens after that.”

OUR TAKE

Gun owners should see an opening to double down on pressuring politicians to leave their Second Amendment rights alone.  With Murphy admitting that any bi-partisan legislation is nowhere near what he and other leftists wanted, and with a bumbling administration backing measures so radical that not even Rinos can get behind it, gun owners can raise their collective voice louder than before to help defeat this latest threat to their constitutional rights.

Take half a minute to write your legislators and let them know that you will not tolerate any compromise on your God-given rights.  You can use this form provided by the American Firearms Association provided below.