• As the mass shooting in Las Vegas thrusts gun control back into debate, Republican leaders say they’re not interested in more gun laws

WASHINGTON— Republican leaders made clear Tuesday that Congress will take no action on gun legislation in the wake of the massacre in Las Vegas. They refused to entertain Democratic demands to expand background checks for gun purchases, but also shelved their own House bill that would have loosened access to gun silencers.

“I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters after the mass shooting that killed at least 59 people and wounded hundreds more.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said there is no plan for the House to act soon on the silencer bill, which a GOP-led House committee backed last month. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, said it would help hunters protect their hearing.

The congressional inaction underscored the power of the National Rifle Association and the political stakes for lawmakers who maintain their support for the constitutional right to bear arms and fear any challenge to their fealty.

Four years ago, after the deadly school shooting in Newtown, a bipartisan bill on background checks failed in the Senate.

Asked this week about gun laws, President Donald Trump said, “We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.”

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said on Twitter: “It’s not ‘political’ to urge action to stop the regular killing of Americans by guns. It’s responsibility. Silence is the political choice.”