Democrats get started with gun control push United States
Days after reclaiming the House majority, Democrats are introducing gun control legislation timed for the anniversary of the shooting of former Democratic representative Gabby Giffords.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats will introduce a bill to expand background checks for sales and transfers of firearms on Wednesday, the eighth anniversary of the day Giffords was shot in the head at a constituent meeting in Arizona.
Giffords, who co-founded a gun safety group with her husband, Mark Kelly, said in a statement yesterday she was thrilled that her former House colleagues were responding to a gun violence epidemic that killed nearly 40,000 Americans in 2017.
Democrats promised swift action on gun control after the party regained the House majority following eight years of Republican rule.
Pelosi called the bill on background checks a common-sense measure, and cited polls showing that 97 per cent of Americans support background checks for gun sales.
‘‘Our Democratic majority will press relentlessly for bipartisan progress to end the epidemic of gun violence on our streets, in our schools and in our places of all worship,’’ Pelosi said. ‘‘Enough is enough.’’
The background checks measure is likely to face opposition from the Republican-controlled Senate and the White House, where President Donald Trump has promised to ‘‘protect the Second Amendment’’ to the US Constitution.
Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, said a federal background check did not prevent Giffords’ shooting.
House Democrats also unveiled a comprehensive elections and ethics reform package that targets what they call a ‘‘culture of corruption in Washington’’ and aims to reduce the role of money in politics.
The bill would make it easier for citizens to register and vote, tighten election security, and require presidents to disclose their tax returns.
Dubbed the ‘‘For the People Act’’, the bill also would ban executive branch officials from lobbying their old agency for two years after they leave government, and reauthorise and enhance the Office of Government Ethics, which has clashed with Trump.
Besides election provisions, the bill would set up a public financing system for House races and require political groups to disclose donors.
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter would be required to disclose who paid for online advertisements, similar to existing rules for television and other media.
In a move designed to reduce partisan gerrymandering, the bill also calls for states to establish independent redistricting commissions to draw boundaries for future congressional districts.