Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (CT) told CNN on Sunday about all the different gun control measures that some Republican Senators are considering in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Murphy told CNN host Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that he has “never been part of negotiations as serious as these.”
Murphy claimed there were “more Republicans at the table talking about changing our gun laws and investing in mental health than at any time since Sandy Hook.”
Murphy said items that were on the table and being discussed with Republican lawmakers included “red flag laws” and “changes to our background check system to improve the existing system,” along with “a handful of other items that will make a difference.”
Murphy claimed that Democrats were “not going to do anything that compromises people’s Second Amendment rights.” However, several moments later, he said that he wanted to “put a piece of legislation on the table that’s going to ban” semi-automatic long guns but that it was not going to happen this time.
He went on to mention Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), who has discussed ways to scrutinize juvenile records.
“What we’re talking about is trying to make sure that dangerous or potentially dangerous individuals don’t have their hands on weapons. Senator Cornyn has also talked about his interest in taking a look at how we access juvenile records for these young men who tend to be 18 to 21, committing these mass murders, to make sure that they can’t get their hands on a weapon if they have had problems with the law in the past,” he said. “We’re likely going to pair it with some significant mental health spending, which will make a difference as well.”
Murphy said that instituting a “red flag law” was “the most important” piece of gun control that Democrats want to pass at this current moment that they think even has a shot of hitting 60 votes in the Senate.
“And it’s not just about getting more states to pass red flag laws,” he said. “It’s actually about helping states implement red flag laws.”
When asked if President Joe Biden should jump in to try to help negotiations, Murphy quickly responded, “I think the Senate needs to do this ourselves.”