“I’m certainly prepared for failure,” Connecticut Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, who helped lead the talks, told CNN on Thursday. “I’ve been here long enough to know that this is probably the most politically and emotionally complicated piece that Congress is dealing with.”
“I’ve also heard Republicans make it clear that while we’re not talking about doing everything at once, whenever we’re talking about more incremental but significant changes, they’re open,” said Murphy, who has been briefing President Joe Biden on the status of conversations.
In fact, while House Democrats plan to move forward with a bill to ban so-called assault weapons, Senate Democrats aren’t even discussing a ban on firearms like the AR-15, the rifle of great power used in the Texas Elementary School massacre and a rage. of the mass shootings. They also admit that a bipartisan proposal will have to be restricted to extend background checks on commercial firearms sales, although the House passed a bill last year to force a universal background check. in all commercial sales and private transfers as well.
And sources from both sides told CNN that the push to raise the age to 21 to buy semi-automatic rifles has not yet gained too much strength in Senate talks, as Republican opposition to the idea begins to rise and Democrats don’t know if he can win the party. it takes 60 votes to break a deadlock.
“It’s hard to see,” a GOP source said, raising the age to 21 to buy guns, although federal law prohibits 18- to 20-year-olds from buying guns.
“It won’t happen,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a GOP chief negotiator, tweeted about imposing new arms restrictions, though his office declined to specify what he meant.
Asked last week about raising the age at 21 to buy powerful weapons, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican involved in bipartisan talks, was skeptical.
“When I think about it, I think we take a look at the age at which you can enlist in the military?” Tillis asked. “So this question has a lot of complexities.”
In fact, even after Democratic concessions on arms control, senators say, the prospects for bipartisan talks to collapse in the coming days is very real.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done and obstacles to overcome,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who is heavily involved in bipartisan talks.
Murphy and Blumenthal have been here before, from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in their hometown of Connecticut. And even shortly after the killings of 20 young children and six adults there, Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance a bill by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of West Virginia. Pennsylvania to force to check the background of firearms. sales at gun shows and online.
Numerous legislative efforts following many subsequent mass shootings have also failed, including an effort by Murphy to revive the Manchin-Toomey bill last year simply by closing the so-called gun show gap and putting aside checks. Internet Sales Background. But despite Murphy’s talks with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham on the issue last year, the renewed push to reduce the Manchin-Toomey bill never came to an agreement.
“It’s too broad,” Graham told CNN when asked if he could defend the Manchin-Toomey plan after last week’s massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
However, senators are once again taking part in talks in a different way from other mass shootings given the scale of the Uvalde massacre, with the murder of 19 children and two adults at Robb Primary School. at the hands of an 18-year-old. with an AR-15 style weapon. Senators say an agreement must be reached before next week or nothing will be done, again.
“I think next week is critical,” Murphy said, as senators have been home during this week’s recess and are returning to Washington next week. “My hope is that we have a product for Republicans and Democrats to look at when we come back. And that will give us an idea of whether we can pass it. Every day that goes by I’m more optimistic. But I don’t think we’ll know until everyone comes back. in the city”.
How Senate talks are being set up
The talks focus on a more limited version of Manchin-Toomey’s proposal, along with other ideas. Blumenthal and Graham are engaged in renewed talks on incentives to enforce state laws that allow authorities to restrict access to weapons to people considered a threat, known as red-flag laws. There are ongoing talks, even between Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, to impose new rules on arms trafficking between states.
Republicans, including Cornyn and Tillis, are in talks about school safety provisions and ways to strengthen the U.S. mental health system. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, is also involved in these talks.
However, it is unclear how much money senators will propose to strengthen mental health programs. And it is also uncertain whether Republicans will demand that the costs of the programs be paid in full by spending cuts or unused Covid-19 relief money, which could lead to a revolt by Democrats.
Murphy said he still did not know how the group would structure mental health benefits and how much it would cost.
“It’s about getting more than 60 votes in the Senate, and we’re working on that and that will have to do with spending and provisions,” Murphy said.
MOP McConnell, the GOP leader in the Senate, said Thursday in his home state of Kentucky that he wants a bipartisan agreement “to address” the issue, which is “school safety and mental illness” and must be “consistent with the Second Amendment “. “–a view different from that of many Democrats, who see lax gun laws as the main culprit.
But with McConnell’s support crucial in determining whether an agreement can reach 60 votes in the Senate, Murphy saw the GOP leader’s comments in a positive light.
“I have read carefully everything that Senator McConnell has said in the last 48 hours,” Murphy said. “And so far, I haven’t read anything he said to exclude the deal that is very focused on keeping guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.”
However, other problems could be left in the cutting room. There are ongoing talks, even between Blumenthal and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, about the safe storage of firearms in homes. But there is still a philosophical disagreement over how and whether certain approaches to storing weapons should be imposed, according to various sources.
Despite Republican skepticism, Murphy would not rule out an agreement to ban 18- to 20-year-olds from buying semi-automatic rifles such as AR-15s, as this has been a recurring feature of mass killers, including Uvalde.
But it is very uncertain whether the Senate will accept new age restrictions.
“We’re certainly having a conversation about the fact that mass shooters tend to be of the same profile – young men and men in their late teens and early 20s,” Murphy said of Senate talks. “I don’t know what we’re going to end up with, but I think there’s a recognition from everyone that a lot of these mass shooters are usually of the same profile.”
Any deal, Murphy admitted, would be “far from perfect.” But he said that for now, the GOP’s interest in finding a deal has not waned.
“Too often they’ll be interested in talking for the first few days, and then it’ll be harder for me to get back the phone calls,” Murphy said of Republicans. “That’s not what’s happening this time. This time there’s a serious commitment from a growing section of Republicans that’s growing every day.”
CNN’s Ted Barrett and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.