CONSENSUS

“This is where the focus is,” she said.

For Democrats like Beatty, who represents Columbus, the push in the aftermath of the shooting has been on backing legislation that would keep firearms out of the hands of someone such as Nikolas Cruz, the 19-yearold man with a history of behavioral and mental-health troubles who is accused of opening fire on the high school on Valentine’s Day.

For President Donald Trump, the answer is unclear: His initial push to arm teachers appears to have evolved over the course of the week, culminating in a stunning meeting at the White House on Wednesday, when he appeared to embrace several gun-control measures long sought by Democrats and long despised by Republicans. But then on Thursday, he met with a National Rifle Association lobbyist who later said Trump was not keen on gun control.

In Congress, consensus also remains unclear among congressional Republicans.

Some, like Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, are willing to have Congress pass a bill banning “bump stocks,” the device that make a semiautomatic weapon automatic that was used by the shooter at a concert in Las Vegas in October. He also supports raising the age limit to purchase semiautomatic weapons to 21.

For Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, bump stocks represent an area where it’s possible to “find middle ground,” but more important is making sure authorities properly identify people who might be a threat. “When we think of a threat, we think of who’s a threat, how are they going to threaten us and what do we do to stop them,” he said. “We don’t talk about the tools they’re going to use.”

Johnson said the Parkland, Florida, shooter was repeatedly mentioned as a risk to local law enforcement and the FBI. “While plenty of people followed the adage of “if you see something, say something,” no one actually did anything, he said.

He also suggested — as Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, has — reviewing the age limit for purchasing firearms.

By contrast, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, was more guarded on the issue, telling reporters last week that he would look at the age-limit issue. Portman, however, also said he thinks it is time for Congress to weigh in on the issue of bump stocks and tightening the federal background-check system.

The House was in session only one full day this week, Tuesday, before adjourning for the funeral of the Rev. Billy Graham, whose casket was displayed in the Capitol Rotunda. But Beatty said that just in that day alone, she saw plenty of energy around the gun issue, including people introducing bills related to gun violence and signing petitions on gun violence.

“America’s on our side with this,” she said, while also insisting that she’s not out to end the right to own a gun.

“I’m very pro- the Second Amendment,” she said, “but I think we just have to have sensible gun laws.”

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, meanwhile, wants to raise the age limit on gun ownership to 21, ban assault weapons, beef up background checks and get rid of an exemption that allows those on the terrorist “no-fly” list to buy a gun.

How about arming teachers? “I think that’s ludicrous,” Brown, a Democrat, replied.

If he’s optimistic about enacting the changes he seeks, he hides it well. “The gun lobby is so powerful here and members of Congress — invertebrates that so many of them are — are not willing to

“I’m very pro- the Second Amendment, but I think we just have to have sensible gun laws.”

— Rep. Joyce Beatty

stand up to it,” he said.

Stivers, meanwhile, said he senses “a cumulative impact” that might push lawmakers to act. He said he also supports re-examining the background-check system in order to better prevent guns from going into the wrong hands.

“People are saying, ‘Let’s do something,’” he said, adding that he’s hoping Congress can reach a consensus without devolving into partisan warfare. “It sounds Pollyanish in February of an election year,” he said, “but I hope we can do that.”

Beatty, too, said she senses a shift, particularly because teens and young adults are getting involved in calling for gun limits.

“Here’s the thing you have to remember,” she said. “In 2018, a few will vote. In 2020, a lot will vote. In 2022, they all will vote.

“I think that you’re going to start seeing a peeling off” on the gun issue, she said. “Whether you take money from the (NRA) or not is your choice. But you shouldn’t be beholden to not having sensible gun laws.”

But Rep. Warren Davidson, R–Troy, said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is already reviewing the legality of bump stocks, though he acknowledged “that maybe the law isn’t clear enough.”

To him, the issue is not necessarily one of additional regulation.

“I think the issue there (in Florida) is we had multiple failures in law enforcement ... there’s an investigation into why he (Cruz) wasn’t prosecuted for some of the things that happened already,” he said. Had Cruz been prosecuted, he likely would’ve been flagged in a database and prevented from legally owning a gun.

He cautions against the notion of acting quickly without really solving the problem.

“I think the rush is to do something instead of take the time to really look at the problem,” he said. “I don’t think the Second Amendment was meant to have an expiration date.”