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Texas School Shooting Survivors Urge US Lawmakers to Pass Gun Control Measures

U.S. lawmakers are still struggling to reach a deal on gun control measures in the wake of last month’s mass shooting that left 21 dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson says Democrats are rallying to keep attention focused on the issue.
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House Passes Gun Control Bill After NY, Texas Deaths 

The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semiautomatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds.

The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204. It has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks. But the House bill does allow Democratic lawmakers a opportunity to frame for voters in November where they stand on policies that polls show are widely supported.

“We can’t save every life, but my God, shouldn’t we try? America, we hear you, and today in the House we are taking the action you are demanding,” said Representative Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat. “Take note of who is with you and who is not.”

The push comes after a House committee heard wrenching testimony from recent shooting victims and family members, including from Miah Cerrillo, 11, who covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot at the Uvalde elementary school.

The cycle of mass shootings in the United States has rarely stirred Congress to act. But the shooting of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde has revived efforts in a way that has lawmakers from both parties talking about the need to respond.

“The answer is not to destroy the Second Amendment, but that is exactly where the Democrats want to go,” said Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican.

Senate action

The work to find common ground is mostly taking place in the Senate, where support from 10 Republicans will be needed to get a bill signed into law. Nearly a dozen Democratic and Republican senators met privately for an hour Wednesday in hopes of reaching a framework for compromise legislation by week’s end. Participants said more conversations were needed about a plan that is expected to propose modest steps.

In a measure of the political peril that efforts to curb guns pose for Republicans, five of the six lead Senate GOP negotiators do not face reelection until 2026. They are Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The sixth, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, is retiring in January. It’s also notable that none of the six is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

While Cornyn has said the talks are serious, he has not joined the chorus of Democrats saying the outlines of a deal could be reached by the end of this week. He told reporters Wednesday that he considers having an agreement before Congress begins a recess in late June to be “an aspirational goal.”

The House bill stitches together a variety of proposals Democrats had introduced before the recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. The suspects in the shootings at the Uvalde school and Buffalo supermarket were both just 18, authorities say, when they bought the semiautomatic weapons used in the attacks. The bill would increase the minimum age to buy such weapons to 21.

“A person under 21 cannot buy a Budweiser. We should not let a person under 21 buy an AR-15 weapon of war,” said Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat.

Republicans have noted that a U.S. appeals court ruling last month found California’s ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 was unconstitutional.

“This is unconstitutional and it’s immoral. Why is it immoral? Because we’re telling 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to register for the draft. You can go die for your country. We expect you to defend us, but we’re not going to give you the tools to defend yourself and your family,” said Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican.

Safe storage

The House bill also includes incentives designed to increase the use of safe gun storage devices and creates penalties for violating safe storage requirements, providing for a fine and imprisonment of up to five years if a gun is not properly stored and is subsequently used by a minor to injure or kill themselves or another individual.

It also builds on the Biden administration’s executive action banning fast-action “bump stock” devices and “ghost guns” that are assembled without serial numbers.

The House is also expected to approve a bill Thursday that would allow families, police and others to ask federal courts to order the removal of firearms from people who are believed to be at extreme risk of harming themselves or others.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently have such “red flag laws.” Under the House bill, a judge could issue an order to temporarily remove and store the firearms until a hearing can be held no longer than two weeks later to determine whether the firearms should be returned or kept for a specific period.
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Sources say Biden to Use Executive Action to Spur Solar Projects Hit by Probe

President Joe Biden will use executive action on Monday to help bridge a solar panel supply gap and kickstart stalled U.S. projects after an investigation froze imports from key foreign suppliers, sources familiar with the matter said.

The moves come amid concern about the impact of the Commerce Department’s months-long investigation into whether imports of solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations are circumventing tariffs on goods made in China.

Biden also will invoke the Defense Production Act to drive U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and other clean technologies in the future, with the support of loans and grants, the sources added.

“There is going to be this safe harbor timeout on the … collection of duties, and that’s at the heart of what’s going to save all of these solar projects and ensure that they are going forward,” said one source familiar with the White House’s plans.

State governors, lawmakers, industry officials and environmentalists have expressed concern over the investigation, which could result in retroactive tariffs of up to 250%.

It has essentially halted imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which account for more than half of U.S. solar panel supplies and 80% of imports.

The investigation has had a chilling effect on the industry, say clean energy groups, some of which have asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to dismiss it, though she has said she has no discretion to influence it.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Biden’s action would bring certainty back to the U.S. solar market and allay companies’ concerns about having to hold billions of dollars in reserves to pay potential tariffs.

The investigation, announced at the end of March, could take 150 days or more to complete.

The issue has created a unique dilemma for the White House, which is eager to show U.S. leadership on climate change, in part by encouraging use of renewable energy, while respecting and keeping its distance from the investigation proceedings.

Using executive action and invoking the DPA, which allows presidents some authority over domestic industries, allows Biden to take advantage of the tools available to him without stepping on the tariff inquiry.
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