Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday passing some type of gun reform will be “front and center” in September after two mass shootings over the weekend.
“It’s certainly one of the front and center issues. I think … probably background checks and red flags will probably lead the discussion. But a lot of other things will come up as well,” the Kentucky Republican said on WHAS radio in Kentucky.
“What we can’t do is fail to pass something,” he added. “The urgency of this is not lost on any of us.”
Mr. McConnell’s statement comes after shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, left 31 people dead and dozens wounded.
When asked whether he would call lawmakers back from their August recess, the majority leader said doing that would only lead to more partisan sentiments.
“I don’t want to just engage in finger-pointing or making a point,” Mr. McConnell said. “What’s happened after every one of these shootings is that there’s been a temptation to just engage in political discourse rather than actually passing something.”
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Mr. McConnell added that President Trump is “anxious to get an outcome and so am I, and I think the Democrats will have to just admit that it’s better to get a result than just engage in this endless point-scoring.”
The president said there was a “great appetite” for background check legislation but added there was “no political appetite” for banning assault-style weapons, despite polling showing 60% of Republicans supporting the measure.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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