Following the latest school shooting, Democrats are once again pushing for tougher regulations on firearms and new limits to be set on who is allowed to own them.
Congress is set to return to Washington this week following a two-week recess. However, many of Capitol Hill’s most vocal gun reformers have claimed that they do not believe that the latest school shootings would lead to any form of reforms, or to Congress passing new gun regulations. Last month, a school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., led to the death of three adults and three 9-year-old children. Despite this Republicans in both chambers are unanimously against the idea of more gun regulations.
Democrats further point out that if the GOP was not willing to take action following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012, when 26 people, 20 of whom were school children, died then Nashville would not be enough to make them take action.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) stated that while he is “the least cynical person in this building,” the shooting at Sandy Hook took place 20 miles from his house, and while he had thought it would bring change nothing happened in response.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), also pointed out that the Democrats could try to put through gun laws, but that the Republicans were going to block any reform efforts. He further added that the Republicans had not taken any action after Sandy Hook so why would they take action now?
