House Judiciary Committee To Return Early From Summer Recess To Address Gun Violence

Julian Shen-Berro
Updated

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has called the committee to return early from congressional recess in order to address the issue of gun violence.

A committee press release Friday said the panel will return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 4 ― five days before the House is scheduled to be back in session ― to mark up a series of a bills that tackle the issue of gun violence, including a ban on large-capacity magazines and a bill that would prohibit those convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing a gun. The committee will also hold a hearing on assault weapons on Sept. 25.

Nadler’s call comes just weeks after three mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio claimed 34 lives and injured dozens more in the span of just six days. In the aftermath of the shootings, many have called for the entire Congress to return from its summer recess, especially the Republican-controlled Senate, where gun control legislation passed in the Democratic House has stalled.

“The House Judiciary Committee, which I lead, and the full House has already passed legislation to require universal background checks and close the Charleston loophole,” Nadler said in a statement following the shootings earlier this month. The Charleston loophole is a flaw in the background check system that enabled a man to buy the weapon he used in the 2015 massacre in a South Carolina church.

“It is time for the Senate and President Trump to act on these and other measures to prevent the gun violence plaguing our nation,” Nadler said.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.