Mitch McConnell panicked over this — releasing a frantic statement accusing the folks who produced the video of being a big-money outside group.
A local paper corrected the record: “They actually have raised over 2,000 contributions from their 7,000 members in Kentucky, averaging less than $15 per donation.”
McConnell is feeling the heat.
“This is the gun control legislation Mitch McConnell won’t allow senators to vote on” (USA Today 8/4/19) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/04/mass-shootings-what-congress-doing-gun-control/1916451001/
[Mitch] McConnell @senatemajldr 8:27 AM – 4 Aug 2019
“Sickening to learn this morning of another mass murder in Dayton, Ohio overnight. Two horrifying acts of violence in less than 24 hours. We stand with law enforcement as they continue working to keep Americans safe and bring justice.”
Shortly after the white supremacist mass shooting in El Paso, the Twitter account @Team_Mitch tweeted a photograph of a fake tombstone which read “RIP – Amy McGrath – November 3rd, 2020.” While Mitch McConnell does most of his tweeting from his @senatemajldr account, @Team_Mitch is also a verified account belonging to McConnell. In other words, the tweet in question is directly the doing of McConnell and his team.
McConnell could have tried to argue that the photo was posted before he and his team were aware of the El Paso shooting. But the photo would still be in dangerously bad taste even if the shooting hadn’t happened. Moreover, two days later, McConnell still hasn’t deleted it – thus making clear that he couldn’t care less about the implications.
Amy McGrath, the high profile Democrat and military veteran who’s running against Mitch McConnell in 2020, and the target of McConnell’s “death” tweet, posted this in response: “Hours after the El Paso shooting, Mitch McConnell proudly tweeted this photo. I find it so troubling that our politics have become so nasty and personal that the Senate Majority Leader thinks it’s appropriate to use imagery of the death of a political opponent (me) as messaging.” https://theweek.com/speedreads/857086/mitch-mcconnells-campaign-shared-photo-political-opponents-names-tombstones-after-el-paso-shooting
McConnell issued a statement on Monday after Trump spoke about the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend.
“Only serious, bipartisan, bicameral efforts will enable us to continue this important work and produce further legislation that can pass the Senate, pass the House, and earn the president’s signature,” he wrote. “Partisan theatrics and campaign-trail rhetoric will only take us farther away from the progress all Americans deserve.” https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-senate-republicans-ready-to-answer-presidents-call-to-action
McConnell is blocking passage of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, the package of legislation addressing gun safety that was passed by the House in February. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8 The bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals).
Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check.
The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.
“Mitch McConnell suggests Trump cannot be trusted to mean what he says on guns.”
https://thinkprogress.org/mitch-mcconnell-admits-trump-may-not-actually-support-the-gun-legislation-he-said-he-wanted-c704c035f366/
The Hugh Hewitt Show Tue, Sep 3, 2019:
Hugh Hewitt (conservative radio host): Why won’t you bring forward their [the Democratic] background check bill?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Well, we’re in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings. I said several weeks ago that if the President took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor. And the administration is in the process of studying what they are prepared to support, if anything. And I expect to get an answer to that next week. If the President is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it’ll become law, I’ll put it on the floor.
The gunman who killed seven people and injured more than 20 others in a shooting rampage along a West Texas highway Saturday had a criminal history but that didn’t keep him from obtaining a gun since he was able to purchase the AR-style rifle he used through a private party sale that didn’t require a background check.
Universal background checks are supported by 97% of Americans. The House already passed a bill to require this life-saving measure but it’s sitting on Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s desk. As tragedy after tragedy leave more people dead from senseless gun violence, McConnell still refuses to act. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/west-texas-shooter-background-check-private-sale
Meanwhile “A 17-Month-Old Girl Is Recovering After Being Shot In The Face During The West Texas Rampage” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/baby-shot-face-odessa-shooting
Authorities in Texas have identified a person suspected of illegally manufacturing a rifle and selling it to the man who allegedly killed seven people and wounded more than 20 others in West Texas last Saturday, a report said. https://nypost.com/2019/09/04/cops-identify-man-who-allegedly-sold-illegal-gun-to-texas-shooter-seth-ator/
Law enforcement authorities believe the man lives in Lubbock, Texas, but his identity was not released, The Wall Street Journal reported. https://www.wsj.com/articles/authorities-suspect-man-of-making-and-selling-gun-used-in-texas-shooting-11567639127
Authorities believe the man was illegally buying parts to guns, assembling a single firearm and then reselling it, the Journal reported.
Texas Department of public safety investigators also believe the suspect sold the AR-15 “type weapon” to the shooter in a private sale that allowed him to legally purchase the gun without undergoing a background check, according to the report.