Lawmakers in both parties are beginning talks on gun legislation, with “red-flag” laws at the forefront, one day after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, reports Axios.
In an announcement Wednesday afternoon, House Democrats indicated they’ll bring up a vote on red-flag legislation early next month. Such measures are designed to keep firearms out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.
The proposal coming up in June is sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., said The Hill. It would nationalize several laws empowering courts to issue protective orders keeping people from possessing or acquiring guns if a judge finds them a threat to others or even themselves.
As per The Hill’s report, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced the decision to push the legislation forward via Twitter, targeting the first week of June, when the House returns to D.C. after a Memorial Day holiday recess.
The likelihood of adoption by Congress is unclear, even amid the drive to take action following Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde.
Several senators see red-flag legislation, which already exists as law in at least 19 states, as having the best chance of securing enough bipartisan support to pass through both chambers of Congress, though a bipartisan solution may be difficult since many Republicans say red-flag laws should be within the purview of states than the federal government.
“If we can’t get 70 or 75 senators to vote for common-sense protection of your children or grandchildren, what in the world are we here for? What’s your purpose for being in the United States Senate if it’s not at least to protect the children?” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday.
A slippery slope if there ever was one. We’re not hearing much about the approaches to keeping us safe from the dangerously mentally ill, something better than the ineffective and lackadaisical system of actionable identification, appropriately comprehensive care, effective behavior monitoring in the community and interdisciplinary reporting we have now.
While we’re at it, public education about mental illness is still a barely touched upon but definitely needed service.
It’s about time!