President Donald Trump shocked a bipartisan group of lawmakers Wednesday when he called for a series of changes to current gun laws, including comprehensive background checks and age limits for buyers.
And Florida Congressman Darren Soto told Cheddar that, if changes aren’t made, this will be a major issue come midterms.
“This will absolutely be one of those litmus test issues that can really swing a lot of voters,” he said in an interview before the president’s comments. “We’re talking about our young people keeping up their energy until the November elections.”
The latest developments come two weeks after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Survivors have sparked a nationwide #NeverAgain movement and even discussed gun control with high-profile Republican legislators, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and the commander-in-chief.
Soto said this isn’t the first time one group has been able to effect change at the ballot. He pointed to Democrat Margaret Good, who won Florida’s 72nd House district, a usually Republican area, the day before the Parkland, Fla., shooting.
“We saw that in the special election recently in Florida, that Republican women, suburban women who were independent, have come out in favor of Democrats,” he said. “They see that the Republicans aren’t willing to do anything to help protect our kids.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-darren-soto-speaker-ryans-gun-control-comments-a-real-shame).
A woman has taken command of the U.S.S. Constitution for the first time in its 224-year history. Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell on Friday became the 77th commanding officer of the warship that earned the nickname Old Ironsides.
China has flown 39 warplanes toward Taiwan in its largest such sortie of the new year, amid tensions over the island's future.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to convert his first paycheck this week into two cryptocurrencies.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday reversed her position on efforts from rank-and-file members to restrict or ban members of Congress from trading stock in individual companies while in office.
The 40-page paper was widely seen as the first step in doing just that, but the document provides only partial hints as to if the Fed is supportive of a central bank digital currency.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced on Tuesday that 261 million individuals, or about a fifth of the country's population, have now set up digital yuan wallets.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market.
At a Wednesday news conference to mark his first year in office, President Joe Biden is admitting that the pandemic has exhausted and demoralized many Americans.
Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, reversing a policy it announced earlier this month.
The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents starting next week.
