Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) made it clear during his weekly press conference that fixing the federal background check system was as far as he is willing to go on guns. In other words, there will be no vote on an assault weapons ban.
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Ryan said, “Of course we want to listen to these kids. We also want to make sure that we protect people’s due process rights and legal, constitutional rights while making sure that people who should not get guns don’t get them. This kid was clearly one of those people.”
Ryan echoed NRA talking point while rejecting the assault weapons ban
Paul Ryan is following the NRA’s talking points. He is blaming the shooter, not the gun, and he is elevating the Second Amendment over public safety. Ryan’s answer was straight out of the NRA, and for good measure, he hid behind the Senate and claimed that he will only allow votes on gun legislation that will pass the Senate.
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This is not how the legislative process is supposed to work. The House isn’t supposed to only pass bills that have passed the Senate. Ryan’s has wholly abandoned the House’s role in passing legislation.
The kids from Parkland and their supporters are going to need to fight even harder, because the NRA is pulling the strings of Ryan, McConnell, and Trump, which means that they can expect the Republican-controlled Congress and White House to be part of the problem. The solution will have to be voting legislators and a president who will take on and defeat the NRA.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
