A Republican lawmaker brandished a gun during the gun control debate in the US House of Representatives.
Republican Representative Greg Steube, who attended the committee meeting mostly from his home in Florida, said the law would ban handguns.
The second term MP showed each of his four guns to the committee, describing one as “a gun I carry every day to protect myself, my family, my wife and my home”.
Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, said: “I hope in God that’s not loaded.”
Mr. Steube replied: “I’m at my house. I can do whatever I want with my gun.”
Republicans have opposed Democrats’ efforts to introduce new limits on gun purchases, a move that follows a number of mass shootings in recent weeks, including one at a school. study in Texas. 19 children and two teachers shot dead.
The Protect Our Children Act was added to the legislative framework after that shooting, and the state judiciary committee held a nine-hour hearing on Thursday to debate the measures.
These include raising the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, making the importation, production, or possession of high-capacity magazines a federal violation, and creating a buyback program for magazines. even like that.
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Democratic Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler dismissed the Republican criticism, saying: “You say it’s too early to act? That we’re ‘politicizing’ these tragedies to enact policies. new?
“It’s been 23 years since Columbine. Fifteen years since Virginia Tech. Ten years since Sandy Hook. Seven years since Charleston. Four years since Parkland and Santa Fe and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“Too early? My friends, what the hell are you waiting for?”
Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said: “We need to seriously understand why this keeps happening.
“Democrats are always trying to curtail the rights of law-abiding citizens rather than trying to understand why this is happening.
“Until we find out why, we will always mourn the loss without facing the problem. Our job is to figure out why.”
The final vote on the committee was 25-19 with the Democrats taking all the votes in favor and the Republicans casting all the votes against.
A vote in the House could take place as early as next week, however, although it will pass there, its chances in the Senate – which split 50-50 and where 60 votes are needed – are very thin.
On Thursday, the President of the United States Joe Biden calls for gun control progresssays Congress should ban assault weapons, expand background checks and introduce several other gun control measures.
