Police and FBI officers wait outside the home of the suspect in a shooting incident at a Thousand Oaks bar, in Newbury Park, California. (Reuters)
Newly ascendant Democrats are promising congressional action on gun control amid a rash of mass shootings, including the assault at a California bar that killed 12 people.
Measures including expanded background checks and a ban on assault-style weapons are likely to reach the House floor when Democrats retake control after eight years of Republican rule.
“The American people deserve real action to end the daily epidemic of gun violence that is stealing the lives of our children on campuses, in places of worship and on our streets,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader who is running for a second stint as House speaker.
Pelosi vowed to push for a range of actions to stem gun violence, including restrictions on high-capacity magazines and a measure allowing temporary removal of guns from people deemed an imminent risk to themselves or others.
The measures could win approval in the Democratic-controlled House next year but will face opposition from the Republican-controlled Senate and the White House, where President Donald Trump has promised to “protect the Second Amendment.”
Still, gun control advocates believe they have the political momentum to make guns a central issue next year.
The political calculus on guns is changing, said Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, whose Florida district includes the Parkland high school where 17 people were killed in February.
“We saw it start on Tuesday and we’re going to see it accelerate in January,” he said.
Gun control was a major issue even before the most recent shootings. Lawmakers debated action following the Parkland attack and a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas
