Time for action on guns: AOC
Congress is back in session and U.S. Democrats, looking to heighten their profile on the hot-button issue of gun control, are preparing to move forward on Tuesday with new measures to curb gun violence, while President Donald Trump also planned to huddle with Republican leaders.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was expected to recommend three pieces of gun legislation for a full House vote, more than a month after gun safety surged back to the forefront of U.S. public debate in the wake of back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.
The bills are part of a coordinated strategy between House and Senate Democrats to put pressure on Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on gun-related bills including background check legislation that passed the House in February.
So-called red flag legislation that would allow courts and law enforcement officials to remove guns from people deemed a risk to communities is among the bills that the House Judiciary Committee will consider at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). The panel is also due to take up a measure that would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines and extend an existing prohibition against gun ownership for those convicted of hate crimes, from the felony to the misdemeanor level.
Trump and Republican leaders from the House and Senate were due to meet at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) at the White House. They were expected to discuss gun legislation among other matters, according to a source familiar with the matter.
