Democrats and over 200 city mayors have urged Mitch McConnell to bring senators back to Washington to vote on gun control. NRA chief Wayne LaPierre reportedly warned President Trump against background check legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected calls on Thursday for reconvening the Senate, which is in currently in its August recess, to vote on measures to address gun violence, in the wake of the shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.
Democrats, gun-control activists, and 214 city mayors had publicly urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the Senators back to DC to vote on the issue.
“The tragic events in El Paso and Dayton this weekend are just the latest reminders that our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to take the actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to firearms from being able to purchase them,” the United States Conference of Mayors wrote in a letter to the Republican Senate leader.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went as far as to ask President Donald Trump to use his constitutional powers to call the Senate back into session immediately.
In February, the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed two bills calling for universal background checks for gun buyers, neither of which have been brought it up for a vote in the Republican-led Senate.