CNN spoke with Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, one day after a school shooting in Nashville left three children and three adults dead.
Top House and Senate Republicans rejected calls for additional action on guns, arguing there’s no appetite for tougher restrictions.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, whose committee has jurisdiction over gun policy, said he doesn’t think Congress should limit assault weapons.
“The Second Amendment is the Second Amendment,” he said. “I believe in the Second Amendment, and we shouldn’t penalize law-abiding American citizens.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a participant in prior negotiations on gun legislation, said, “I don’t know if there’s much space to do more, but I’ll certainly look and see.”
Graham said he is opposed to a ban on AR-15s, noting he owns one himself, and he argued it would “be hard to implement a national red flag law.”
After the shooting in his district yesterday, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles shut down questions about banning AR-15 rifles.
Ogles, who represents Nashville, said, “Why not talk about the real issue facing the country? And that’s mental health.”
Remember, Ogles posted a photo on Facebook in Christmas 2022 when he was mayor of Maury County that showed him and his family standing in front of a Christmas tree holding weapons, with the caption: “The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told reporters that he is “not very hopeful” that the Senate can pass gun legislation this Congress, adding, “yet we have to try.”
“This is uniquely American and the people of this country have to ask themselves a basic question: Had enough? Had enough of sending your children and grandchildren to school and wondering if they’re going to be victims of assault rifles?” he said.
He also went after Republican arguments that semiautomatic weapons are constitutionally protected.
“I mean, this is madness. To think that some people rationalize this as part of the Second Amendment is beyond me,” he said.
Despite Republican opposition, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal insisted he is not giving up.
“We’ve heard before that gun violence prevention is impossible, and yet we’ve made progress as we come together. I’m not taking no for an answer,” he said. “I’m going to continue seeking to enlist my Republican colleagues because they know the outrage, the grief.”
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds pushed back on calls for further gun legislation and a ban on AR-15s.
“If you’re going to talk about the AR-15, we’re talking politics now,” he said. “Let’s not get into politics. Let’s not get into emotion, because emotion feels good, but emotion doesn’t solve problems.”
Republican Sen. Todd Young, when asked if he’d support a hearing specifically on assault weapons, said he’d back a hearing to understand what happened during the Nashville shooting.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise demurred when asked if the shooting would move Congress to address any sort of reforms.
“The first thing in any kind of tragedy I do is I pray. I pray for the victims, pray to their families. I really get angry when I see people try to politicize it for their own personal agenda, especially when we don’t even know the facts or facts coming out,” he said.
“Let’s get the facts. And let’s work to see if there’s something that we can do to help secure schools,” he said. “We’ve talked about things that we can do and it just seems like on the other side, all they want to do is take guns away from law-abiding citizens.”
Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar said “shame on Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy” for not wanting to bring up gun legislation.
Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Rep. Ted Lieu criticized Republicans for delaying a Judiciary Committee hearing on guns today.
“Now why would they do that, if they honestly believe as they say that arming more Americans with more guns, more AR-15s, more pistol braces would make us safer? They would have held a hearing and had that as a solution, but they didn’t do that. They ran away. They ran away, and they’re hiding,” Lieu said, closing with “coward.”
Separately, Senate Chaplain Barry Black, whose role is traditionally nonpolitical, called for lawmakers to take action on gun violence “beyond thoughts and prayers” after the shooting.
“Lord, when babies die at a church school, it is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers,” he said Tuesday morning on the Senate floor.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson contributed reporting to this post.
