By Shannon Pettypiece -
NBC News
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, who is helping advance Senate negotiations on gun control, revealed that lawmakers have no intention of proposing any bill that would ban assault weapons or include background checks. of buyers.
However, he confirmed that they are actively working on a standard that would include other measures.
"We're not going to put on the table legislation that's going to ban assault weapons, or we're not going to pass comprehensive background checks," Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Sunday on the television
channel's
State of the Union
. CNN.
"But right now, the people of this country want us to move forward. They just don't want the status quo to continue for another 30 years," she said.
A man carrying a young girl walks past a semi-automatic rifle on display during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting on May 27, 2022 in Houston, Texas, just 3 days after of the Uvalde massacre. AFP via Getty Images
Among the issues currently on the table are investments in mental health care, money for school safety, red flag laws and changes to strengthen the current background check system, Murphy said.
The massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in which an 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school with an assault weapon, has brought legislation governing the purchase of assault weapons back to the forefront of political debate. and background checks.
Lawmakers have been meeting regularly so the two sides can reach a deal, something Murphy was optimistic about.
[Biden claimed that more children are killed by guns than by car accidents. This is what the data says]
"I have never participated in negotiations as serious as these," he said.
"There are more Republicans at the table talking about changing our gun laws and investing in mental health than at any time since Sandy Hook" in 2012.
Democrats, including President Joe Biden, are pushing to ban the sale of assault weapons and establish universal background checks that cover purchases at gun shows or online.
Those measures don't have the necessary support from Republicans, but Murphy said there are other areas that could have enough bipartisan support.
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Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, one of the nine negotiators working on the proposal, explained that he is also optimistic that Democrats and Republicans can support some measures aimed at curbing gun violence, such as expanding gun controls. background waves red flag laws, school safety and mental health provisions.
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On the other hand, he anticipated that half of the Republicans in the Senate could agree with a final bill.
"It seems to me that we're closer than we've ever been since I've been in the Senate," Toomey said on CBS 's
Face the Nation
.
