Chuck lashes inaction by Republicans

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) angrily lashed out at Republicans for ignoring pleas for gun control even as the nation was rocked by another bloody mass school shooting.

The powerful Democrat accused GOP lawmakers on Wednesday of being in the “viselike grip” of the National Rifle Association and blocking common-sense measures that could prevent more massacres like the killing of 21 people, including 19 children, in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.

“Too many [Republicans] care more about the NRA than about the families who grieve the victims of gun violence,” Schumer said.

“Imagine if it were your kid, your grandkid,” he said. “Could you ever forgive yourself? Put yourself in the shoes of these parents for once.”

Underlining Schumer’s point, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed condolences and even prayers for the victims but did not mention the possibility of new restrictions on guns, which could have prevented the attack by a teenager with reported mental health issues.

“Because of this maniac, 19 of those kids never came home,” McConnell said.

Other Republicans who oppose gun control said they would consider new funding for mental health and maybe even so-called “red flag laws” to bar mentally ill people from buying guns after the latest school massacre.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a staunch supporter of gun rights, said the only way to prevent more mass killings is to expand mental health treatment, not restrictions on gun owners.

“It’s a people problem. It’s not a gun problem,” Tuberville said. “You can’t do away with all the guns. ... We have to start treating people.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) stressed that she supports “red flag laws” like those in Maine that allow gun rights to be limited if a person is judged by a doctor to be a danger. “One thing that many of us have supported is to have some sort of red flag law ... which requires due process and a medical professional to be involved,” Collins said. “That’s certainly something we should look at.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), whose wife, Gabrielle Giffords, was nearly killed by a crazed gunman, pulled no punches when asked about GOP’s refusal to act.

“It’s f-----g nuts to do nothing about this,” Kelly said.