Washington D.C. Politicians React to the Las Vegas Attack

Let me just lead off by saying that THE LAST thing I want to do is turn the horror of what happened in Las Vegas into a political stance, rant, or otherwise. However, the news is the news and it must be reported on and while this news has come about due to the events in Las Vegas, I want to re-state that I find turning their suffering into politics reprehensible and due to that, political rhetoric and hyperbole is going to be absent from this article. Instead it will just be filled with the facts about how Washington D.C. is responding legislatively to the Las Vegas attack.

As more information drops about the Las Vegas shooting and more politicians begin to weigh in about next steps, the logical talking point for them is gun legislation. Should there be stricter background checks? Should there be a registry? Should there be more availability for citizens to get guns for self-protection? All of these questions have been asked around Washington and the main answer that is being heard on the gun legislation front is … nothing.

That's right. It seems that the broad and far-reaching Republican plan for a silencer act, national reciprocity, and many other firearms related pieces of legislation are being shelved for the time being, according to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) who told reporters when asked about the upcoming silencer bill:

“[The silencer bill is] not scheduled right now. I don't know when it will be scheduled,”

In fact, the only talk of guns and legislation that Ryan has done at all was a statement made on MSNBC on Thursday morning. When asked about bump-fire stocks and the fact that it helped out the shooters rate of fire so much, Ryan stated that, regarding their ban, “Clearly that's something we need to look into.”

But the President himself did not give specifics on a timeline about any gun legislation when asked. Instead, he stated:

“We'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.”

The only people who have been talking about getting anything done on gun legislation one way or the other have been Democrats, many of whom have been quite thankful of Ryan's pause on the Silencer Bill and other gun-related legislation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) stated:

“Thank God our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have pulled back on this bill.” When two mass shootings force you to delay a bill that would make those mass shootings harder to detect and stop, maybe that's a sign you ought to let go of the bill once and for all.”

Between Schumer's thanks for the Republican inaction as well as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia's talks of re-introducing the background check legislation Democrats called for in 2012 following the Sandy Hook Massacre, it appears that the momentum of gun legislation in the United States has gone from those who are pro-gun to those who are anti-gun, once again. Only time will tell just what sorts of bills and perhaps laws could be coming down the pipe in the United States Congress.

What do you think of this story? What sorts of changes would you like to see to American Gun Law? Or do you think it's fine the way it is? Let us know in the comments below.