Almost immediately after a group of 20 U.S. senators announced a “commonsense, bipartisan proposal” on a new gun control package, anti-gun Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) set off alarm bells within the Second Amendment community by declaring the proposal “a good first step.”
It raises questions from grassroots gun rights activists about what Schumer thinks should come next. Perhaps a clue can be found at CNN, which reported Monday about things that are not in the accord: Expanded background checks, a ban on so-called “Assault Weapons,” and Raising the minimum age for purchase of a semi-auto sport/utility rifle.
And there are questions being raised about the reported agreement, whether it is as firm as the media is reporting.
The Senate group, consisting of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, released this statement Sunday: “Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities.”
But Schumer quickly jumped in front of the nearest microphone to celebrate, stating the proposal is “a good first step to ending the persistent inaction to the gun violence epidemic.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was “more restrained,” according to Spectrum News. While McConnell reportedly “praised” the work senators have done, he expressed hopes for a successful accord. The National Rifle Association issued a statement, “The NRA is committed to real solutions to help stop violence in our communities,” the gun rights group said. “We encourage our elected officials to provide more resources to secure our schools, fix to our severely broken mental health system and support law enforcement.
“As is our policy,” the statement continued, “the NRA does not take positions on ‘frameworks.’ We will make our position known when the full text of the bill is available for review.
“The NRA will continue to oppose any effort to insert gun control policies, initiatives that override constitutional due process protections and efforts to deprive law-abiding citizens of their fundamental right to protect themselves and their loved ones into this or any other legislation,” the statement concluded.
According to Fox News, the Senate group includes Chris Murphy, John Cornyn, Thom Tillis , Kyrsten Sinema, Richard Blumenthal, Roy Blunt, Cory Booker, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, Martin Heinrich, Mark Kelly, Angus King, Joe Manchin, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Debbie Stabenow, and Pat Toomey.
