Nadler not in big hurry for new gun law
Rep. Jerrold Nadler wants Congress to consider new gun laws after the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings — but he’s not exactly moving at lightning speed.
The powerful Democrat said his Judiciary Committee would cut short its summer recess to deal with the gun crisis, but only by five days.
The panel will meet on Sept. 4, two days after Labor Day, to prepare a series of bills for consideration by the full House of Representatives. Congress had been scheduled to return from its August recess on Sept. 9.
“Thoughts and prayers have never been enough,” said Nadler (D-Manhattan). “To keep our communities safe, we must act.”
Nadler’s Democratic primary challenger said he should act with more urgency than cutting short the six-week summer break by less than a week.
“The issue of gun control cannot be put off any longer,” said Lindsey Boylan, who said Nadler has also stalled the investigation that could lead to the impeachment of President Trump. “He’s been slow to respond on a lot of issues.”
The proposed new laws include include a high-capacity magazine ban, a measure to prevent people convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing firearms and a red flag bill to deny guns to those deemed to be a danger.
The gun debate shifted under lawmakers’ feet on Aug. 3 when a gunman who said he was acting to stop an “invasion” of Latino immigrants opened fire on an El Paso, Texas, shopping center, killing at least 22 people. A second gunman killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, in an unrelated attack a few hours later.
After the massacres, Democrats ripped Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over his refusal to cut short or cancel the body’s summer break to take action on guns.
House Democrats wanted to make a statement that they were taking action quicker than the GOP.
But they found many of their members simply could not return to Washington before Labor Day. If they called an earlier session, they risked not being able to gather a quorum to make decisions or potentially allowing minority Republicans to block the new measures.