House Democrats said Tuesday that they’re charging ahead with their gun reform push after meeting in the Capitol with a handful of students who survived this month’s shooting rampage at a Florida high school.
“They’re here for change, they’re here to make a difference, and just inspiring people with a message to everyone — not Democrat or Republican,” Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said after leaving a meeting with the students. “They want see change in the gun laws in this country.”
Crowley said the students are pushing for several specific reforms, including an expansion of background checks to accompany almost every gun purchase and a ban on assault weapons “amongst other things.”
“We all agree that everything they … spoke about this morning are bills and issues that we support,” he added. “There’s no daylight between the Parkland students and really the overwhelming majority of the Democratic Caucus. … We took energy from each other, and that was important.”
The Democrats have been working to hone their message in the wake of the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where a lone gunman killed 17 students and faculty with a military-style rifle. Authorities say the suspected gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, had a history of behavioral problems.
Crowley said the party’s messaging campaign remains a work in progress, but lawmakers have been invigorated by the students-turned-activists. The caucus leader said the Democrats are ready to push for dramatic changes, including the assault weapons ban that could prove a difficult issue for Democratic candidates in some conservative leaning districts.
Crowley said the assault weapons ban, introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) just a day earlier, has already won the endorsement of more than 150 Democratic lawmakers.
“This is … not about elections, this is about saving people’s lives,” Crowley said.
Deutch, who represents Parkland, said after the meeting that the students had emphasized their opposition to a proposal — backed by both President Trump and the National Rifle Association — to arm some teachers in schools as a deterrent to would-be shooters.
“The teachers aren’t law enforcement,” Deutch said.
Rising to the top of the Democrats’ list of gun reform priorities is legislation to expand background checks on prospective gun buyers, a notion that has near-unanimous public support in recent polls. Republicans have refused to hold hearings on the issue or bring the bill to the floor, arguing that the gun-violence epidemic is a problem rooted in issues of mental health, not the easy availability of guns.
“They know that support for universal background checks is almost 100 percent,” Deutch said, referring to the students. “They don’t understand why it as that hasn’t happened yet. … They want action now. … If everyone’s talking about gun safety, Congress ought to be acting on these issues.
“That’s what they want.”