Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he’s pressing for a Capitol Hill vote on gun control by adding an amendment to a Republican-sponsored bill to repeal Obamacare, saying in a written message Americans deserve “common sense” reforms of the Second Amendment.
He tweeted: “Gun violence has become a cancer on this nation. We must make common sense gun reforms that keep weapons out of dangerous hands.”
But even fellow Democrats say Reid’s move could prove a meaningless and fruitless public relations message. In a statement to Roll Call, a caucus of Senate Democrats said Reid’s filing of an amendment doesn’t guarantee a vote – not even a procedural one.
The amendment to the Republicans’ budget reconciliation package, Roll Call reported, would ban individuals who are found guilty of violating laws that prevent the obstruction of women to reproductive health services, like Planned Parenthood, from owning firearms.
His amendment takes aim at the shootings at Planned Parenthood in Colorado last week. But it comes just a day after a mass shooting in California that left 14 dead and 17 hurt, and is being investigated for ties to terrorism.
Other Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Patty Murray, have planned a press conference Thursday to call for other amendments and votes on gun-control measures.
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Reid, meanwhile, put out this statement: “Gun violence has become a cancer on this nation. We are better than this. Too often, we are turning on our televisions to scenes of horror like those we are witnessing [in California]. This madness must stop. There is no excuse for inaction. We cannot allow ourselves to grow numb to gun violence or to feel powerless in the face of it. We can, and must, make common sense gun reforms that can keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous criminals and the mentally ill. The American people are crying out for us to act. If we do not act, this distressing reality will not change.”
Republicans, however, aren’t so enthusiastic to use the recent killings as cause to enact gun control.
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Sen. Cory Cardner, a Republican who represents Colorado, called the shootings in his state tragic, but aligned more with mental health than gun access.
“It’s tragic and something that is an unacceptable action by clearly some very vile, evil actors,” he said, International Business Times reported. “I hope that we can address this through mental health issues. I think that’s the direction we have to go.”
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Solution offered to Muslim carnage: More guns
Harry Reid demanding Senate vote on gun control
Obama doubles down on gun control mantra
Michael Savage reported shooter’s name hours before media
Democrat senator: Stop praying and get on gun control
Newspaper mocks GOP for post-massacre prayers
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Dead shooters ID’d as Muslim husband-wife team
