Family members watch during a funeral service for retired Buffalo Police Officer Aaron Salter, Jr., a security guard who was shot and killed in an attack by a white supremacist at a TOPS supermarket on May 25, 2022, in Buffalo, New York Went.
Jeffrey T. Barnes | Reuters
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a domestic terrorism bill passed by the House earlier this month in response to a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
racist rampage at age 18 10 killed in predominantly black neighborhood in buffalo. The Democratic-held House responded a few days later with a measure that would specifically seek to reduce racist violence.
But Republicans, who argue that there are too many laws to prosecute domestic terrorism and oppose giving federal law enforcement more power, stalled the bill’s progress. It failed to advance in a 47–47 vote, less than the 60 needed to break a filibuster in the chamber.
Lawmakers considered Thursday, known as Domestic Terrorism Prevention ActWill create three offices in the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, along with the FBI, to track and investigate possible domestic terrorism cases.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerA New York Democrat on Wednesday urged his Republican allies to consider the bill in the wake of the second May mass shooting of a teenager: the murder. 19 children and two teachers in a primary school In Uvalde, Texas.
But without the 60 votes needed to bypass a GOP filibuster, the chances of a domestic terrorism bill becoming law are slim.
While Democrats also hope to draft separate legislation that would tighten gun background checks or so-called red flag laws, the bill before the Senate on Thursday would have responded specifically to the threat of racist killings.
In recent years mass shootings have targeted a specific racial minority group, including in Buffalo, Atlanta and El Paso, Texas.
The now doomed law would direct new government offices to document and report on domestic terrorism with a particular focus on white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups, and force the Pentagon and federal law enforcement to expel white supremacists from their payrolls. Will do
Republicans in the House of Representatives, who opposed the bill when it was passed by the chamber on May 18, said the domestic terrorism bill would give the Justice Department and federal law enforcement too much power.
US Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican whose district includes parts of downtown AustinIn a speech from the floor of the House last week, he condemned the effort.
“We understand what is fueling the domestic terrorism unit in this FBI, in the federal government of this administration,” Roy said.
The bill is “about the empowerment of the federal bureaucracy to target Americans,” he continued. “It’s questioning that you don’t think is right. This idea is an extension of the crimes that pervade this body that will allow the government to target us for what we believe.”
Senators renew gun reform talks
While the domestic terrorism bill is likely all but dashed, a growing number of Senate Republicans appear receptive to talks about a different gun control policy after 31 Americans were killed in mass shootings in less than a month. was dropped.
Marnie Beale of Arlington, Va., holds a sign for background checks on gun purchases in the Senate steps of the U.S. Capitol, following the latest mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Tom Williams | CQ-ROLL CALL, INC. , Getty Images
Schumer has so far relied on Sen’s negotiating powers. Chris MurphyA Connecticut Democrat and ardent supporter of a tough gun policy, he set out to determine which measures could win the support of 10 Republicans.
While Murphy’s chances of success are slim, as a solid majority of Republicans would never consider any additional gun regulation, it’s possible that a handful — including censors — Pat Tomei, Susan Collins, and John Cornyn — would defy red flag laws. May be open to passing or reinforcing background checks.
“We’re going to extend a hand of partnership to the people who are sitting on the sidelines, who have chosen with the gun lobby. And we’re going to offer them a seat at the table,” Murphy said outside the Capitol.
A bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Toomy and Collins and Democrats Murphy and Sen. Kirsten Cinema of Arizona, met Thursday to begin informal talks on gun-safety legislation. The Senate wrapped up its work for the week on Thursday, but lawmakers plan to discuss it over Memorial Day weekend.
NBC News reported that Senators will now be divided into smaller groups, or pairs, to clarify the details of specific propositions. One such coupling appears to be between Tommy and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who created a bill 10 years ago to strengthen background checks and close some firearm purchase loopholes.
That bill won majority support in the Senate in 2013, but lacked the 60 votes needed to crack a filibuster.
“I still strongly believe that the requirement for background checks on all commercial sales of firearms that Joe Manchin and I had is a perfectly reasonable policy that does not infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. ,” Tomy told CNN on Wednesday. “There’s a group of us that’s going to get together, and we’re going to discuss it and see if we might be able to get to 60.”
“There has also been some discussion about Red Flag legislation,” Tommy said, referring to laws that order family members to temporarily remove guns from a person suspected of posing a danger to themselves or others from court. allow to give.
“They are both discussions that are effectively going on,” he said.
Kentucky Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he encouraged Cornyn to try to find common ground with Democrats on gun rules.
“I encourage them to talk to Senator Cinema and Senator Murphy and others who are interested in trying to get results,” McConnell said. “It is directly related to the problem. So I hope we can come up with a bipartisan solution that is directly related to the facts of this horrific genocide.”
Cornyn, speaking from the Senate floor on Thursday morning, said he may be ready to consider specific measures.
Based on the results of the Uvalde police investigation, “I’m curious to see if there is a gap that would have done something to mitigate this attack. That may have actually prevented this attack from happening.”