Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) made a bipartisan call Tuesday for the Senate to vote on background check legislation, just days after two back-to-back mass shootings killed at least 31 people.
The bill, H.R. 8, passed the House in February but was never brought to a vote in the Senate, which is controlled by GOP Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
"We're saying to Leader McConnell: do the right thing," Minority Leader Schumer said at a press conference, alongside King, at a Walmart near New York City.
Over the weekend, two seperate mass shootings killed at least 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and nine people in an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio.
"If anything good can come from the horrible tragedies of this weekend, it would be if we can get this legislation passed," King said. "This should not in anyway be a partisan issue."
The plea for a vote came a day after President Trump's live address to the nation in which he called for "real, bipartisan solutions" to gun violence.
H.R. 8 — formally titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 — won passage with a vote of 240 to 190, including support from eight Republicans. The bill would establish universal background check requirements for firearm sales and transfers, and specifically make it harder for those with criminal records and mental illnesses from obtaining a gun.
"McConnell has had 200+ days to pass gun laws & save lives. On average 100 Americans are fatally shot every day as the Senate fails to act," the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety said on Twitter. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also urged the Senate "to be on the right side of history" and schedule a vote.
In a statement on Monday, McConnell said that "Senate Republicans are prepared to do our part" in response to Trump's call, adding that "partisan theatrics and campaign-trail rhetoric will only take us farther away from the progress all Americans deserve."
Schumer and King both said that they believe the bill, which King co-sponsored, would pass the Senate if it is brought up for a vote.
"It is essential that Leader McConnell brings this to a vote," King said. "He doesn't have to support it, he doesn't have to get behind it. Just let it come to a vote."
"It is a piece of paper," Schumer said as he held up the bill on Tuesday. "But it is a piece of paper that can save lives."
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
