House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went nuclear on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Monday, threatening him with “hell to pay” if he doesn’t pass a gun control bill in the Senate.
“So here we are once again asking the Grim Reaper, informing the Grim Reaper, that these bills are alive and well in the public, that public opinion, public sentiment will way in. And as I have said in our meetings across the country, we will make this issue too hot to handle,” the speaker threatened Monday.
‘Hell to pay’
Pelosi continued, “But some of the gun violence prevention groups have made it, have upped the ante even further, to say that if this bill is not passed, Mitch McConnell, and the Republicans in the Senate, and the president will have hell to pay.”
“We are not taking no for an answer. We are not going away,” she added.
Sen. Chuck Schumer echoed Pelosi’s sentiments, declaring, “Two people in Washington can make sure the background checks bill passes: Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. It is totally up to them and it is on theirs shoulders, they can’t escape that responsibility.”
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley chimed in as well, stating, “I’m here on behalf of the citizens of Dayton, who called us that night to do something. This is something that can be done, can be fast, and will save lives.”
Background checks can fail
However, both the shooter in Dayton and the one in El Paso each passed a background check.
While the Odessa shooter did evade a background check by purchasing a firearm in private sale, he bought the weapon from a man who is alleged to have illegally manufactured it. If so, then it seems unlikely that the individual who sold the gun would have complied with a background check requirement.
Yet even when background checks are conducted, errors can render them ineffective.
Dylan Roof passed one despite having a criminal record. Roof went on to murder nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Sutherland Springs shooter also passed one before killing twenty-six victims. Devin Kelly should have been barred from buying a gun for crimes he was convicted of while serving in the military — but his record wasn’t reported to civilian authorities.
McConnell has indicated a willingness to consider the Democrat’s proposal.
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