“It has been 23 years since Columbine,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
In a House Judiciary hearing, Nadler cites other mass shootings since Columbine to the recent ones in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Who knows how long until the next one,” added Nadler. “Too soon? My friends, what the hell are you waiting for?”
Some congressional members, mostly democrats, are making their move on gun control legislation. In a committee hearing, they looked at the “Protecting Our Kids Act”, which would: Increase the age to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 years old; Ban large-capacity magazines of no more than ten rounds of ammo; Incentivize safe firearm storage in homes; Build on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ regulatory ban on bump stocks, which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire more rapidly; And it would also have federal firearms regulations to include so-called “ghost guns”. The hearing sparked some heated moments.
“We’re in a crisis of death,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D- TX). “We have a war on the children of America.”
“Who here today thinks criminals are going to read the safe storage act and gang members are gonna say well better lock this gun up,” asked Rep. Thomas Massie (R- KS). “Or else they’ll come and take it? Who here thinks a 19-year-old is gonna obey on having a gun? These are unserious.”
One member used their own guns as props to show how this legislation would ban large magazines.
“This is a 12-round magazine, this magazine would be banned under this current bill,” said Rep. Gregory Steube (R- FL).
Others shared their own personal experiences with gun violence.
“The same racially motivated violence that took my son, that murdered ten Black Americans in Buffalo is being replayed with casual callousness,” said Rep. Lucy McBath (D- GA).
The House is slated to vote on this legislation next week. Meanwhile in the other chamber, senators are working together on their own gun legislation to see if they can find some common ground.
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