Mass shootings typically prompt demands for stricter gun control. However, such measures have not been sought after the attempted assassination of former President Trump, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports. There was little demand on Capitol Hill or on the presidential campaign trail to ban assault-style weapons like the AR-15 used by the Pennsylvania, shooter and by the killer of 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue; the AK-17 used in the deaths of 22 people in El Paso, Texas; or the Bushmaster semiautomatic used to gun down 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn. One of the few calls to action in Congress after the July 13 Trump shooting came from U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, who used his time during the panel's July 22 hearing on the Trump shooting to call for stronger gun regulations. After the shooting, Trump doubled down on his opposition to gun regulations, touting his endorsement by the National Rifle Association.
One reason there was little discussion of new gun legislation on Capitol Hill after the July 13 shooting is that political assassinations are viewed differently from other shootings, said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who led a 2016 Senate Democratic filibuster to force action on gun legislation after 49 people were gunned down at an Orlando, Fla., gay nightclub. "It is a narrative about politics, about the motivation of the shooter, about security," he said. "I think it's unfortunate but understandable that we don't process assassinations in the same way we process a mass shooting. But there's no doubt that the gun facilitates political assassinations just like it facilitates mass murder." The 2016 filibuster ended when then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) agreed to bring up bills to ban those on the terrorist watch list from buying weapons and to require background checks for purchases at gun shows and online transactions. Then Republicans blocked any debate on them. Now, Raskin has called out Congress for failing to act, noting on the same day Trump was shot, a gunman killed four people and wounded 10 others in a Birmingham, Ala., nightclub.
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