Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he encouraged Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to start talks with Democrats on possible new gun laws in response to the shooting massacre at an elementary school in Texas.
Mr. McConnell said he met with Mr. Cornyn and encouraged him to talk with Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, among others, “in trying to get an outcome that is directly related to the problem.”
“I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution,” Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, told CNN.
Lawmakers in both parties are under pressure to act after the mass shooting on Tuesday, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. The 18-year-old gunman was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer.
It remains to be seen what kind of bipartisan legislation could be worked out. Democrats and some Republicans have pushed for bills to expand background checks on gun purchases, and to develop a national “red flag” system similar to those in many states in which firearms can be confiscated from people who are deemed by a court to be a threat to themselves or others.
Mr. McConnell did not specify the outlines of any potential gun legislation.
“What I’ve asked Senator Cornyn to do is to meet with the Democrats who are interested in getting a bipartisan solution and come up with a proposal, if possible, that’s crafted to meet this particular problem,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get an outcome that can actually pass and become law rather than just scoring points back and forth.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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