虽然他们的一些朋友和亲人仍被埋葬在家中，但在最近的大规模枪击事件中，幸存者和受害者家属挑战国会山的立法者本周就枪支改革谈判达成协议，否则在从桑迪胡克到帕克兰的悲剧发生后，30年的不作为趋势可能会继续下去。
随着参议院谈判代表继续谈判，众议院周三晚上通过了一项全面的一揽子计划，主要是按照党派路线制定的，名为“保护我们的孩子法案”，该法案将把购买半自动步枪的年龄限制从18岁提高到21岁，禁止大容量弹夹，制定枪支安全储存要求，并加强对撞击枪和“幽灵枪”的监管。
少数议员在223-204的投票中打破了行列，五名共和党人——伊利诺伊州众议员亚当·金辛格、俄亥俄州众议员安东尼·冈萨雷斯、宾夕法尼亚州众议员布赖恩·菲茨帕特里克、纽约州众议员克里斯·雅各布斯和密歇根州众议员弗雷德·厄普顿——支持该计划，两名民主党人——缅因州众议员贾里德·戈尔登和俄勒冈州众议员库尔特·施拉德——投了反对票
值得注意的是，每个跨越党派界限的共和党人在下一个任期都不会回到国会，施拉德最近输掉了民主党初选。一名共和党人没有投票。
众议院议长南希·佩洛西在周三的投票中微笑着敲槌，她的党团欢呼雀跃。
但众议院共和党领导人在投票前进行了反击，共和党众议员史蒂夫·斯卡利斯(Steve Scalise)参加了投票。注意到，在911袭击后，“没有关于禁止飞机的对话”，并呼吁大多数人像参议院一样举行两党会谈。尽管这项立法在上议院注定要失败，但它的目的是给共和党人施加压力，尽管他们对在联邦层面实施改革犹豫不决，或者干脆阻止改革要求变革的呼声越来越高。
2021年6月8日，众议院议长南希·佩洛西在华盛顿众议院通过了H.R. 7910，保护我们的孩子法案。
house.gov
改变政策的真正机会在参议院，在那里，一小群两党谈判者正在慢慢接近达成原则上的枪支改革协议。
民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯。周三，在离开由大约11名立法者组成的会议时，他表示，他们正在讨论“一系列具体的建议”，他“希望在未来一天内将这些建议简化为一个框架，包括一系列广泛的承诺，包括金额和目的。”
但是问题仍然围绕着最终协议将包括什么，以及它是否会像许多美国人要求的那样。
“在外面的某个地方，一位母亲正在听我们的证词，并对自己说，‘我甚至无法想象他们的痛苦’，不知道我们的现实有一天会是她的——除非我们现在采取行动，”卫莱·卢比奥的母亲金伯利·卢比奥说，她是得克萨斯州乌瓦尔迪遇难的19名儿童和两名教师中的一名四年级学生。“所以，今天，我们代表卫莱。作为她的声音，我们要求行动。我们寻求禁止突击步枪和大容量弹夹。”
“你希望我们继续一遍又一遍地原谅和忘记。你在做什么?”参议员周二问，水牛城枪击案最老的受害者露丝·怀特菲尔德的儿子小加内尔·怀特菲尔德问道。“我母亲的生命至关重要。您在这里的行动将告诉我们，这对您是否重要，以及有多重要。”
奥斯卡获奖演员马修·麦康纳说，他在乌瓦尔迪长大，学会了负责任的枪支所有权，本周在游说两党议员后，他也提出了来自白宫的热情呼吁，称美国人在枪支问题上更加团结，但分裂的是国会。
“受够了对方的无效宣告。让我们来到代表美国人民的共同餐桌。找到一个中间立场，无论如何，我们大多数美国人都生活在这个地方，尤其是在这个问题上，”麦康纳在一次激动人心的冗长演讲中说。“因为我向你们保证，美国——你们和我——我们并不像别人说的那样分裂。”
由康涅狄格州民主党参议员克里斯·墨菲(Chris Murphy)和得克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁(Michael Bloomberg)领导的两党参议员小组旨在本周就一项可能获得足够支持以在国会通过的一揽子计划达成妥协，但他们正在考虑的措施范围远小于受害者和总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)公开呼吁的范围。
而不是89%的美国人支持的普遍背景调查根据美国广播公司新闻和华盛顿邮报的民意调查在美国，谈判者正在寻求扩大背景调查，以查看青少年记录。关于红旗法律，根据同一项民意调查，86%的美国人支持该法律，该法律暂时从被认为对自己或他人构成危险的个人手中收回枪支，该组织正在考虑激励各州实施自己的法律，而不是在联邦层面颁布红旗法律。
根据洛杉矶共和党参议员比尔·卡西迪的说法，各州心理健康资源的资金——共和党推动的一项措施，以及增加学校安全的资金——已完成约80%。他是会谈的一部分。
参议院民主党人支持这些措施的扩大版本，以及将购买攻击性武器的年龄从18岁提高到21岁，但他们没有足够的共和党支持成为法律。民主党人需要10个参议院共和党人加入他们的任何立法，以满足众议院的60票门槛，这是阻挠议事规则所要求的，并允许法案最终通过。
到目前为止，尚不清楚是否有足够的支持，即使是一个更温和的协议。
尽管肯塔基州参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔私下表示愿意支持降低购买攻击性武器的年龄，但消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻的国会记者雷切尔·斯科特，这项措施对大多数共和党人来说是不可能的。
由a提问美国有线新闻网;卷积神经网络记者为什么美国人需要AR-15，参议员约翰·图恩，R-s-d，说人们在他的州使用它们“射杀草原土拨鼠，你知道，其他类型的恶棍。”
不到24小时后，一名治疗罗布小学大规模枪击事件受害者的乌瓦尔迪儿科医生向众议院议员描述了枪手的AR-15对这些微小尸体的伤害。
儿科医生罗伊·格雷罗说:“两个孩子的身体被一次又一次射向他们的子弹打得粉碎，他们的身体被撕裂，他们身份的唯一线索是仍然粘在他们身上的溅满鲜血的卡通衣服。”
下一步是什么?
参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)给谈判者大约到本周末的时间来拿出一份框架协议，之后将需要更多时间来制定立法语言并获得必要的预算分析。
“我鼓励我的民主党同事继续对话，看看共和党人是否会与我们合作，提出一些能给美国人民的生活带来有意义的变化并制止枪支暴力的东西，”他周二在参议院表示。“取得真正的进展非常重要。墨菲参议员要求继续谈判的空间，我给了他空间。”
但并不是每个谈判者都同意这个快速的时间表。
谈判的主要共和党人、得克萨斯州参议员约翰·科宁周三告诉记者，他的“理想目标”是“在接下来的几周内，在6月27日工作期结束前”达成协议。
尽管谈判代表似乎在周五前接近达成一项框架协议，但一位知情的共和党助手表示，双方仍在交换文件。有可能议员们原则上宣布一项协议，然后再花几周时间敲定措辞，就像两党基础设施法那样。
理论上，参议院民主党人需要10名共和党人加入他们，但一些人认为，任何协议都需要更广泛的共和党支持才能通过——根据这种想法，如果这项措施得到他们更大规模会议的支持，更多的共和党人将愿意支持这项措施。
如果谈判代表不能达成协议，舒默发誓要在秋季中期选举之前，通过就注定要失败的全面枪支改革立法举行投票，让每个参议员都记录在案。
House passes sweeping gun reform package as Senate talks continue
While some of their friends and loved ones are still being buried at home, both survivors and families of victims in recent mass shootingschallenged lawmakers on Capitol Hillthis week to reach a deal on gun reform negotiations or risk continuing a 30-year trend of inaction in the wake of tragedies from Sandy Hook to Parkland.
As Senate negotiators continue talks, the House on Wednesday evening passed a sweeping package, largely along party lines -- called the "Protect Our Kids Act" -- which would raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines, create firearm safe storage requirements, and tighten the regulation of bump stocks and "ghost guns."
A handful of members broke ranks in the 223-204 vote, with five Republicans -- Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Chris Jacobs of New York, and Fred Upton of Michigan -- supporting the package, and two Democrats -- Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon -- voting no.
Notably, each Republican who crossed party lines will not be returning to Congress next term, and Schrader recently lost his Democratic primary. One Republican did not vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled in the vote Wednesday with a smile as her caucus cheered.
But House GOP leaders pushed back ahead of the vote, with Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., noting, "there wasn't a conversation about banning airplanes," after the Sept. 11 attacks -- and calling for the majority to hold bipartisan talks like their Senate counterparts. Though the legislation is doomed in the upper chamber, it's intended to put pressure on Republicans who have been hesitant to enact -- or outright blocked -- reform at the federal level, despitegrowing calls for change.
The real opportunity to change policy lies in the Senate, where a small group of bipartisan negotiators is inching closer to reaching a gun reform deal in principle.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., leaving a meeting with the group of roughly 11 lawmakers on Wednesday, said they were discussing "a series of concrete proposals" that he's "hopeful in the next day will all be reduced to a framework that includes a broad range of commitments, in terms of dollar amounts and purposes."
But questions remain around what the final deal will include -- and if it will go as far as many Americans are demanding.
"Somewhere out there, a mom is hearing our testimony and thinking to herself, 'I can't even imagine their pain,' not knowing that our reality will one day be hers -- unless we act now," said Kimberly Rubio, mother of Lexi Rubio, a fourth-grade student among the 19 kids and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas. "So, today, we stand for Lexi. And as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines."
"You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?" asked Garnell Whitfield Jr., a son of Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim of the Buffalo shooting, which left 10 Black people dead, asked senators Tuesday. "My mother's life mattered. Your actions here will tell us if, and how much, it mattered to you."
Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who said he learned responsible gun ownership growing up in Uvalde, also offered a passionate plea from the White House after lobbying lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week, saying that Americans are more united on the issue of guns, but it's Congress that's divided.
"Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let's come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway, especially on this issue," McConaughey said in an emotional and lengthy speech. "Because I promise you, America -- you and me, who -- we are not as divided as we're being told we are."
The bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, is aiming to reach a compromise this week on a package that could garner enough support to pass Congress -- but they're considering measures much smaller in scope than what both victims and President Joe Biden have publicly called for.
Instead of universal background checks, supported by 89% of Americansaccording to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, negotiators are looking to expanding background checks to look at juvenile records. Regarding red-flag laws, supported by 86% of Americans according to the same poll, laws which temporarily remove guns from the hands of individuals who are considered a danger to themselves or others, the group is considering incentivizing states to implement their own, as opposed to enacting red-flag laws at a federal level.
Funding to states for mental health resources -- a measure Republicans pushed for, along with increased funding for school safety -- is about 80% complete, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is part of the talks.
Senate Democrats support the expanded versions of these measures as well as raising the age to buy assault-style weapons from 18 to 21 -- but they don't have enough Republican support to become law. Democrats need 10 Senate Republicans to join them on any legislation to meet the chamber's 60-vote threshold, required by the filibuster rule, and allow a bill to advance for final passage.
So far, it's not clear there is enough support even for a more modest deal.
Despite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressing a willingness in private to support lowering the age to buy assault-style weapons, sources told ABC News' Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, the measure is a nonstarter for most Republicans.
Asked by aCNNreporter why Americans would need an AR-15, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said people use them in his state "to shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints."
Less than 24 hours later, a Uvalde pediatrician, who treated the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, described to House lawmakers the damage the gunman's AR-15 there had on the tiny bodies.
"Two children, whose bodies had been so pulverized by the bullets fired at them, over and over again, whose flesh had been so ripped apart, that the only clue as to their identities were the blood spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them," said Pediatrician Dr. Roy Guerrero.
What's next?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has given negotiators roughly until the end of the week to come up with a framework agreement, after which it would take more time to then develop legislative language and get the requisite budget analyses.
"I'm encouraging my Democratic colleagues to keep talking, to see if Republicans will work with us to come up with something that will make a meaningful change in the lives of the American people and stop gun violence," he said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "Making real progress is very important. Sen. Murphy has asked for space to have the talks continue, and I have given him the space."
But not every negotiator appears on board with that swift timeline.
Lead Republican on the talks, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters on Wednesday that his "aspirational goal" would be to reach a deal "in the next couple of weeks, by the end of this work period" on June 27.
While negotiators appear to be closing in on a framework deal by Friday, one GOP aide familiar with the matter said that paper is still being exchanged by each side. It's possible that members announce a deal in principle and then take a few more weeks to finalize language, as was seen with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Senate Democrats need 10 Republicans to join them in theory, but some think any agreement is going to need even broader Republican support to pass -- under the thinking more in the GOP will be willing to support the measure if it has the backing of their larger conference.
If negotiators do not come to an agreement, Schumer has vowed to get every senator on the record by holding a vote on doomed-to-fail comprehensive gun reform legislation, ahead of the fall midterm elections.
