No vote on gun control measures expected this week

After five police officers died at the hands of an angry gunman last week, Congress remains in conflict over what legislative measures should be taken to quell gun violence. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) added the tragedy to its list of gun control grievances during a press conference after Thursday’s police shooting in Dallas, renewing calls for more restrictions. Although many Republicans remain adamant against adopting any new laws, some GOP leaders are discussing an alternate route to stop the shootings.

“Leaders must lead,” Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who organized last month’s gun control sit-in on the House floor, said during the CBC conference. “I think here in Congress, too many people, I hate to say it, are tail-lights, not headlights.”

Gun control legislation from both sides of the aisle—even a bipartisan “no fly no buy” bill sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine—has floundered in the Senate, and proposals in the House have not fared any better.

Four bills tightening background checks and barring potential terrorists from gun sales failed in the Senate last month, while Collins’ proposal—also addressing gun sales to those on the no fly terrorist watch list—fell eight votes short of the 60 needed to advance.

Some Congressional Republicans believe the House sit-in and the Democrats’ party-based advocacy has maimed potential for a compromise on gun control.

“The problem with the sit-in on the House floor is that it made the issue partisan,” Collins told me. “That was not helpful to our efforts in the Senate.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also chastised sit-in participants for encouraging the House to move towards a future without any “vestige of bipartisanship.”

Others, particularly the conservative House Freedom Caucus, continue to oppose even GOP-sponsored measures like a National Rifle Association-backed gun control and anti-terrorism bill. The proposal—very similar to a bill that spun out in the Senate—bars potential terrorists from purchasing guns after a three-day investigation and creates a separate office to battle Islamic extremists. Opponents say the bill encroaches on Second Amendment rights.

Democrats already opposed the bill, and division within the GOP postponed a vote indefinitely.

In response to the Dallas shooting, Ryan encouraged lawmakers to unify and reminded Congress both parties were horrified by the spike in gun violence over the past week.

“Every member of this body—every Republican and every Democrat—wants to see less gun violence,” he said on the floor Friday. “Sometimes we disagree on how to get there. Sometimes we disagree passionately on how to get there. But in having this debate, let’s not lose sight of the values that unite us.”

A vote on any gun control measures is unlikely this week, with Congress preparing to leave for a two-month recess on Friday. But House leaders have considered taking action on improving relations between police and the community.

According to the Tri-City Herald, Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will meet with Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash, this week to discuss Reichert’s plan to revive a program that ups the ante on gun violence arrests, trains police officers, and bolsters citizen participation in local police departments.