Gun control measures have mixed support among area members of Congress
It happened again. More mass shootings. This time two in a span of 13 hours, claimed more American lives.
At least 31 died as a result of the recent violence, gunned down by men wielding highpowered assault-style weapons. The first was Aug. 10 in El Paso, Texas, where a 21-year-old opened fire inside a crowded Walmart; the second took place early Aug. 11 in Dayton, Ohio, where a 24-year-old launched an attack at a popular downtown district, killing nine people in less than a minute.
Like the times before — after attacks at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, an Orlando nightclub in 2016, and last year at a high school in Parkland, Fla., and a Pittsburgh synagogue — the debate about gun control has been revived. And the same questions are being asked.
What are we doing? What can we do? What should we do?
It appears there are already some answers to those questions under consideration in Congress, where four gun control bills have garnered support from both sides of the aisle. Two have been passed by the House and are awaiting action in the Senate. Two more are still working their way through the House.
Here’s a look at what each would do and where officials representing Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties in Washington, D.C., stand on them.
Universal background checks
The Democratic-controlled HouseinFebruaryapprovedthe Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would require every firearm sale to be subject to an FBI background check.
Current law requires federally licensed gun sellers to run background checks, but not all sellers are required to be licensed. The bill would apply the requirement to unlicensed individuals whether they are selling firearms at a gun show or somewhere else.
The bill passed 240-190 with eight Republicans joining most Democrats to vote for the legislation. Berks County lawmakers voted along party lines, with Democratic Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County and Madeleine Dean of Montgomery County supporting the measure and Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Luzerne County voting against.
A companion bill, the Enhanced Background Checks Act, also passed the House. The legislation would require gun sellers to wait up to 20 business days to hear from the FBI regarding a background check. Current law requires a three-day waiting period.
The bill passed with mostly Democratic support, with only three Republicans voting for it. Houlahan and Dean voted for the measure and Meuser voted against it.
Pennsylvania Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey Jr. have said they would support those pieces of legislation if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brings the measures up for a vote in the Senate.
Casey, a Lackawanna County Democrat, urged McConnell on Sunday to cancel the chamber’s August recess for immediate debate and a vote on the universal background check legislation.
“We don’t have to live like this,” he said in a press release. “Politicians who refuse to take action to reduce gun violence are complicit in this carnage. If we’re going to truly confront this uniquely American problem, we have to speak uncomfortable truths.”
Toomey, a Lehigh County Republican, said during a conference call with reporters on Monday that it wouldn’t make much sense to bring the Senate back this week for an emergency session.
“I don’t think we’d accomplish anything if we did and it might end up actually being counterproductive,” he said. “What I think is most important is that we build support for something. If you want a successful outcome — which is what I want — then I think you work toward developing consensus so that you get the right outcome.”
Red-flag legislation
Most Berks County congressional members have also voiced support for legislation that would create a federal grant program to help and encourage states to pass “red-flag” laws that would allow family members or law enforcement to limit access to firearms for those deemed a potential threat to the public.
Houlahan, who represents the 6th District that includes Reading and many southeastern communities in the county, and Dean, who represents the 4th District that includes a small portion of the county in the Boyertown area, have signed onto the Extreme Risk Protection Order bill in the House.
Toomey and Casey are supporters of a similar version of the legislation in the Senate.
Meuser, who represents the 9th District that includes the largest portion of Berks, has not signed on as a cosponsor but supports the idea as long as it ensures due process.
“Such legislation must never infringe upon the constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens,” he said in an emailed statement.
Assault weapons bans
A ban on assault weapons was introduced back in January but has not been voted on in either the House or the Senate. A prior ban, which was enacted in 1994, expired in 2004. The legislation would ban the manufacture and sale to civilians of assault-style weapons and certain largecapacity ammunition magazines for guns.
Houlahan and Dean have signed onto the bill in the House, while Meuser has not.
Casey supports similar legislation in the Senate.
“Over and over again, domestic terrorists use highpowered, military-style assault weapons to kill our children and our families,” he said in a press release. “There are a whole range of steps that must be taken. Congress’s first priority must be passing universal background checks, limiting the size of magazines and banning military-style assault weapons, among other measures.”
Toomey is not on board. He said Monday that the debate over banning certain types of firearms is not helpful.
“The category that people refer to as assault weapons are overwhelmingly very popular firearms that have no more firepower than an ordinary hunting rifle,” he said. “They just look different. They have cosmetic differences like they are painted black and they have a handle sometimes, but there’s nothing intrinsic to that gun that I think warrants it to be banned.”