Senators need more time to reach a deal to address gun violence. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the lead Republican negotiator, said that negotiators are “hovering above the target” but have not nailed anything down yet.
Cornyn said Senate negotiators need at least another week to resolve differences. He urged the Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) not to rush anything to the floor. Schumer warned he will only give negotiators a short period of time to reach a deal.
The House is set to vote this week on legislation to raise the legal age for buying some semi-automatic rifles to 21, create tax incentives for gun dealers to create safe storage equipment, and to ban the sale of large-capacity magazines.
But this legislation is seen as being doomed in the Senate, as it would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans are blocking the efforts for gun reform.
Senate Republican negotiators say proposals to ban assault-style rifles are off the table. This would include the AR-15 rifle that was used in recent horrific mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, against school children, as well as in Buffalo, NY, against supermarket shoppers.
Also off the table is to introduce a requirement for background checks for all gun sales and transfers.
Republicans want modest proposals that encourage states to set up “red flag laws,” as well as proposals that promote safe gun storage and money for mental health.
The stall by Republicans comes after another deadly weekend in America.
In South Carolina and Texas, victims were shot at a high school graduation party. In Kentucky, funeral-goers were shot outside a church. Shooters sprayed a crowd with bullets in Philadelphia, as well as in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
There were 10 mass shootings since Friday in the U.S. The new death toll raises the stakes for the Senate’s latest efforts to finally do something about mass shootings.
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