Democratic Senator Charles Schumer called on fellow Democrats to leave gun control out of budget debate, regardless of pressure coming from activist groups who urge the party to take action after several mass shootings in the U.S.
Schumer believes it is wiser to focus on issues such as Medicare and Medicaid proposed cuts, as well as on the president’s tax plan, which Democrats have been adamant only benefits the wealthy and corporations.
However, there are some who disagree with Schumer’s approach, considering that only weeks ago the U.S. witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in its history in which the killer used bump stock devices to increase his weapons’ rate of fire.
“Democrats need to find courage and learn to speak to the issue. There’s a lot of anger in this movement about the response from Democrats right now. People think it’s totally inadequate,” the director of 1Pulse4America, a gun-violence prevention group said.
On Wednesday night, Senator Kamala Harris expressed similar views in her tweets, saying that answers to gun violence must be discussed and found, adding that such talks have “faded” and that is unacceptable.
Schumer’s strategy, on the other hand, is focused on next year’s midterm elections and on winning seats in the Senate. He clearly expressed his wish that Democrats oppose the Republican tax plan which cuts taxes for those with high incomes and increases taxes on the middle-class, as well as to demand that the deficit is not added to by the tax reform.
David Saunders was one of the few who supported Schumer in avoiding the debate on gun control measures. He said that even though a minority of people oppose these measure, they are the ones holding political power and could determine who controls the Senate in the future.
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