Sen. Chris Murphy said Sunday that a bipartisan group of senators is “closer than ever” to presenting a weapons reform package, but acknowledged that it will not include a ban on assault weapons or thorough background checks.
The Connecticut Democrat, who has been negotiating with his colleagues across the aisle, said he has not seen talks on weapons as “serious” as those now taking place since the mass shooting. at Sandy Hook Elementary School 10 years ago.
He said Democrats and Republicans have agreed to take some “common sense steps” while maintaining the rights of the American Second Amendment, but warned: “We will not do everything I want.”
“We will not put a law on the table that will ban assault weapons, or we will not pass thorough background checks,” the senator told CNN’s “State of the Union.” ”
“But right now, the people of this country want us to move forward. They just don’t want the status quo to continue for another 30 years.”
Still, Murphy said he is “sober about our possibilities” which stems from being involved in these discussions over the years.
“We’re talking about a significant change in our gun laws, a major investment in mental health, maybe some money for school safety, that would make a difference,” Murphy said.
Senator Murphy said both Democrats and Republicans have agreed to take some “common sense steps” toward gun reform. GEORGE FREY / AFP via Getty Images
The measures are likely to include investments in mental health, funds to increase school safety and a change in red-flag laws, but he said talks are continuing and that senators are “trying to figure out what he can get between 60 and 70 votes in the Senate . ”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, authorized bipartisan talks following the mass shootings at a Buffalo grocery store that killed 10 people and massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people, including 19 students, died.
In both shootings, gunmen used AR-15-style military assault weapons.
A man fills out a federal background check form at a gun camp. George Frey / Getty Images
Murphy has met with GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Others involved in the discussions include Senators Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) And Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
Toomey, who worked with Manchin on legislation to extend background checks 10 years ago but stalled in the Senate, said he hopes the proposal will be incorporated into the package.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get exactly what Senator Manchin and I developed a few years ago, it would probably be a different thing than that. And that’s fine,” he told CBS News’ Face the Nation.
Senator Murphy told CNN he may not get “everything he wants” in terms of gun reform. CNN
He said there were “a number of mechanisms” that could be used to expand controls and that the proposal “makes sense”.
“We all agree that violent criminals and dangerous mentally ill people should not have guns. Therefore, we need a mechanism to increase the likelihood of identifying that person and prevent them from buying a gun legally anyway. “And that’s the idea behind expanding background checks,” Toomey said.
President Biden, in a strange evening speech to the nation from the White House last week, said the Second Amendment “is not absolute.”
“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, we should raise the age to buy them from 18 to 21,” Biden said. and added that it supports the strengthening of background check and enactment of red flag laws.
MP Steve Scalise, who was injured in a 2017 shooting, said lawmakers should “focus on the root cause of the problems” and not attack the Second Amendment.
“You have members, Democrats, cursing the Second Amendment. You have members who said, well, if we can’t get it, we’re going to blow up the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court to prevent the Second Amendment,” the Louisiana Republican told Fox News Sunday “.
“The Second Amendment is not a guide, it’s part of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and by the way, it’s there for a reason. Every day in the United States people use guns to defend themselves.” he said.