Lawmakers Debate Over Future of Gun Control in Wake of TX School Shooting

The fight rages on over the future of gun control regulations as lawmakers on Capitol Hill wrestle with what comes next after the tragedy in Uvalde.

Democrats are weighing what gun policies they want to ideally put forward, and what could realistically garner enough votes to pass. 

President Joe Biden heard the calls from crowds demanding action when he visited with victims over the holiday weekend. 

"The pain is palpable and I think a lot of it is unnecessary. So, I'm gonna continue to push and we'll see how this works," Biden said.

The overall focus for doing something is on Washington, but what Congress can or will do is up in the air. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy (D) met virtually with a group of Democrats and Republicans Tuesday for continued discussions on potential new laws.

One of the ideas focused on incentivizing states to enact so-called Red Flag laws which allow a judge to take guns away from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

"There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook," said Sen. Murphy prior to the meetings.

Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) is trying to reach some compromise on gun control, even though it could be hard to come by. 

His fellow Senator in Texas, Ted Cruz (R), blasted more restrictive gun control proposals in his speech at the NRA's conference last week. 

"To Washington Democrats, the answer is so-called universal background checks and banning so-called assault rifles and the more aggressive among them call for banning all firearms," he said.

Meanwhile, in the House, an emergency meeting was scheduled this week for the Judiciary Committee. 

Leading Democrats hope to act on multiple bills, including raising the age to buy some semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and banning the sale of high-capacity magazines. 

Other measures include restricting hard to trace "ghost guns" or guns built at home, and issuing a ban on bump stocks - the attachments that help make guns rapid fire.

If those bills pass the House, they likely will not get the 60 votes needed in the Senate. That puts a greater focus on the current bipartisan talks between Senators. 

Meanwhile, Congress is on a scheduled break and will return next week.

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