Gun bills shorten D.C. break

House panel plans to vote on 3 measures early next month

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is shown in this file photo.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is shown in this file photo.

WASHINGTON -- The House Judiciary Committee, spurred by recent massacres in Ohio and Texas, announced Friday that lawmakers would cut their summer recess short and return to Washington in early September to vote on three gun-safety bills.

The measures put forth by Democrats for a vote on Sept. 4 include a ban on high-capacity magazines, a federal "red flag" law meant to prevent those "deemed a risk to themselves or others from accessing firearms," and another bill that bars people convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing a gun.

The list doesn't include an assault-weapons ban. The committee will examine that issue at a separate Sept. 25 hearing. The now-expired assault-weapons ban, passed in 1994, caused extensive political fallout for Democrats, contributing to their loss of the House that year.

The announcement that the House will begin moving new gun-related measures comes as Democrats are trying to maintain pressure on the Republican-controlled Senate to take up a bill that already passed with some Republican support in the House. It would extend background checks to all gun purchases, including those at gun shows and online.

Additional action in the House, Democrats hope, will further prod senators to act after the shootings, which left 31 victims dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, this month.

"While we urge our Senate colleagues to act, Democrats in the House will continue to make good on our promise to work to keep our communities safe," the Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "These should not be partisan issues, and it is my hope we can move forward on these matters with support on both sides of the aisle, including the president."

"There is more that we can and must do to address the gun violence epidemic," Nadler said. "I call on my Senate colleagues to join us in this effort by swiftly passing gun safety bills the House has already passed and also by acting on the additional bills we will be considering."

Republicans on the committee did not immediately comment on the announcement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday called on the Senate to return to work to vote on the House bill bolstering background checks, which Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration have shown some openness to considering.

In an interview, Pelosi, D-Calif., said she has heard "grave concern" from Americans and members of Congress about gun violence and the rise of heated rhetoric, including xenophobia and white supremacy.

"The Senate has to do the job," Pelosi said. "This is simple: They just have to take up the bill and send it to the president."

Pelosi said elected officials have a responsibility to "ensure domestic tranquility" as outlined in the Constitution.

"In the near, near future -- in the immediate future -- we must address the issue of gun violence and the attitudes that are making it less safe for some people in our country," Pelosi said.

"We have to do much better in that regard and I would hope that we can do so in a bipartisan way."

Senate Republican leaders and Trump have promised a full debate around gun-safety legislation when they return to session on Sept. 9 and have shown some signs that the party is moving toward supporting a red flag law.

But the Senate also rejected calls from Democrats to return to session in August to vote on the background-check bill. Republican lawmakers remain largely opposed to more aggressive proposals, like an assault weapons ban or a ban on high-capacity magazines.

At a rally Thursday night in New Hampshire, Trump focused on keeping weapons away from "deranged and dangerous people" while adding that, "We will always uphold the right to self-defense and we will always uphold the Second Amendment."

Information for this article was contributed by Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times; by Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News; and by Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/17/2019

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