Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who is pushing for bipartisan talks in the Senate on potential gun control measures, said on Sunday that President Joe Biden should stay away and let Democrats negotiate with their Republican colleagues themselves.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Murphy was asked if adding Biden to the conversation would be helpful to his effort.
“I think the Senate needs to do this ourselves,” Murphy told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’ve talked to the White House every single day since these negotiations began, but right now the Senate needs to handle these negotiations.”
Chris Murphy said earlier this week that he has been trying to “find that common ground” with Republicans on a “bipartisan package” to address what he called “gun violence,” in light of the deadly attack at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school.
Biden’s proposed ban on so-called “assault weapons,” according to Murphy, is not part of the bipartisan common ground he seeks.
“Right now we’re trying to discover what can get 60 votes,” Murphy said. “We’re not gonna do everything I want. We are not going to put a piece of legislation on the table that’s going to ban assault weapons, or we’re not going to pass comprehensive background checks.”
Biden pleaded with Congress for a ban on sales of what he called “assault weapons and high-capacity magazines” on Thursday, while acknowledging that Congress is unlikely to pass such a measure.
“If we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen background checks. Enact safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis deepening the trauma of gun violence and as a consequence of that violence,” the president said in an evening address from the White House.
Some of Biden’s proposals are on the table for bipartisan negotiations, including red flag laws and tightened background checks for gun-buyers, Murphy said.
Murphy also responded to a comment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is tapped as an emissary of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) to negotiate with Democrats on the potential gun legislation. Cornyn wrote on Twitter that new Second Amendment restrictions are “not gonna happen.”
“We’re not going to do anything that compromises people’s Second Amendment rights,” Murphy said when asked about Cornyn’s post. “We’re not going to do anything that compromises the ability of a law-abiding American to be able to buy a weapon. What we’re talking about is trying to make sure that dangerous or potentially dangerous individuals don’t have their hands on weapons.”
Murphy noted that Cornyn previously talked about the fact that the Uvalde shooter’s juvenile records were not made available to those performing a background check on the 18-year-old prior to his weapon purchase. “I think there is an agreement among the negotiators that we’re going to take some commonsense steps that do not compromise Second Amendment rights,” he said.
