In the wake of two high-profile mass shootings that happened earlier this month, House Democrats will try to advance a raft of gun-control bills on Thursday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has called lawmakers back from a break to mark up gun legislation. He wants to bring a suite of new gun safety laws to the House floor as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old man shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. 10 days later, another teenager killed 10 shoppers at a supermarket in a racist rampage in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
The package is likely to fail in the Senate. Democrats have acknowledged a hope that bipartisan talks in the Senate can lead to a more limited bill with support from both parties.
The House Judiciary Committee will consider a number of bills under the Protect Our Kids Act.
There would be a range of regulations on the sale and use of firearms.
The Raise the Age Act would raise the purchasing age for semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 years, while the Keep Americans Safe Act would outlaw the import, sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of a large-capacity magazine.
New requirements for storing guns at homes, especially those with children, and tax credits for secure storage devices would be created by the law.
While it is not certain when the omnibus will arrive on the House floor, Nadler's move to return the committee early signals that House leadership wants to vote on the legislation soon after lawmakers return from break next week.
It's not clear if Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her deputy want to vote on a single massive bill or break it into its several components and attempt to pass parts piecemeal.
Republican opposition to the package is certain.
Senate Republicans have been blocking progress on gun safety legislation. When they held the majority, they opposed efforts to tighten gun regulations, and now they can threaten an indefinite filibuster if Democrats can't come up with the 60 votes needed to circumvent the stalling tactic.
Taking guns away from law-abiding Americans will not make our nation more secure according to Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican representing Texas.
Cruz added in a separate social media post that it was easier to scream about guns than it was to demand an answer about where our culture is failing.
Anti-gun demonstrators protest outside the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, on May 27, 2022, in Houston, Texas.Disapproval from Cruz and other Senate Republicans will likely doom any legislation Nadler and other House Democrats pass. That isn't likely to deter Pelosi, who on Wednesday acknowledged the long odds any gun-control legislation faces in the Senate.
She wrote a letter to fellow Democrats, asking them to pray that the bipartisan conversations in the Senate will reach agreement on legislation that can save lives.
The Democratic House has passed gun violence prevention legislation many times.
Chuck Schumer wants the nation to watch as Senate Republicans vote down gun control legislation. He is willing to hold votes on bills even if they fail.
Schumer encourages bipartisan gun legislation talks. He is working with Republicans who are open to more modest firearm regulations.
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