After lawmaker’s shooting, GOP pushes to ease gun laws

WASHINGTON — After the nation’s worst mass shootings, in Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; Orlando, Fla.; and Columbine High School in Colorado, gun control advocates rose to demand more rigorous laws, almost always to no avail.

But in the weeks after the June 14 shooting of Republicans at a congressional baseball practice, the response has had a twist: Conservative lawmakers, some of whom were nearly the victims of gun violence, have pressed to loosen gun controls.

Three bills introduced in the Republicanheld House during the past two weeks would allow lawmakers to almost always carry a concealed weapon. A fourth would allow concealed carry permits obtained in other states to be recognized in the District of Columbia.

Most of the legislation has been in development for months, and in some cases, years. But the shooting in Alexandria, Va., which left Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana grievously injured and three others less seriously wounded, served as motivation for Republicans on both sides of the Capitol to move.

As lawmakers return this week from their Fourth of July recess, the politics of guns could return with them. Just before they left, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, introduced a bill that would eliminate the federal regulation of silencers.

Before the end of July, Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., plan to reintroduce their bipartisan bill to expand federal background checks to cover all gun sales, including online purchases — legislation inspired by the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.