Gun Control Challenges

Congress faces heated demands for gun control legislation but lawmakers have actually tried to curb gun violence in the past year.

Another school shooting, another round of calls for Washington to tackle gun violence. However, Congress has recently tried -and failed- to pass gun-related legislation. Just days after a gunman used bump stocks to open fire on a Las Vegas country music festival, a bipartisan bill emerged that would have banned the sale of the devices used to amplify the shooting power of semi-automatic rifles. Legislation has gone nowhere, and results of a study on the frequency of bump stock use in gun crimes is expected this summer. In early November, an Air Force veteran killed 26 people at a Texas church. The Air Force never notified the FBI of information that would have prevented him from buying the guns used in the shooting. Once again, bipartisan legislation was crafted, this time improving federal compliance with criminal background checks. The bill has stalled in the Senate. But despite the varied legislation, none of the bills would have prevented the Florida school shooter from purchasing the AR-15 used in last week’s shooting.