Schumer said he wouldn't bring a vote to the Senate floor on gun legislation this week after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters after a closed-door lunch meeting. Drew Angerer is the photographer.
Schumer began preparing to force votes on legislation that would strengthen background checks required for gun purchases Tuesday evening, but signaled in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday a vote may not come this week, as some Democrats urged.
Schumer said he sympathizes with those who want to see which side each senator is on, but that isn't a case of the American people not knowing where their senators stand.
The Bipartisan Background Checks Act was passed by the House first in 2019, and again in 2021, with the support of eight Republicans, that would expand background checks to gun buyers on the internet and at gun shows, and lengthen the waiting period for gun buyers flagged during a background check process.
The proposals have been stuck for over a year due to the lack of GOP support in the Senate.
No Republican senators have expressed support for the proposal, and centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has not commented in recent days.
Schumer said he hopes to work with Republicans to pass the legislation, though he noted it is unlikely because Democrats have been burned.
The Senate will be on a break for the Memorial Day weekend, but Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin doesn't think the measures will be taken up before then. Schumer indicated in his speech that he doesn't want to vote on anything that doesn't have 60 votes, which could delay the vote further into the summer.
The legislation is likely to fail if there is no new wave of Republican support or the removal of the filibuster. Congress tries to pass legislation after mass shootings, but Republicans won't support most of the laws.
The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six staff members dead was the reason Schumer thought it would be the breaking point. Uvalde, San Bernardino, Las Vegas, and other places have been linked to the shooting at the high school. When will it end?
In a speech after Schumer, Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell said that it was sickening to consider the innocent young lives that were stolen in the Texas shooting. He told reporters to refer to his speech, which did not mention any legislation, when asked if Congress should pass any legislation.
Here is what we know about the victims of the Texas school shooting.
BidenUrges Americans to Stand Up To Gun Industry as 19 Children Killed In Texas Elementary School
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