Lindsey Graham pushes ‘red flag’ bill to curb gun violence
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he will propose bipartisan legislation to encourage more states to adopt “red flag” laws after a pair of horrific mass shootings.
The South Carolina Republican’s announcement came soon after President Donald Trump also called for such laws, which allow police and family members to request that a court temporarily restrict the access to firearms of people who may pose an imminent threat to themselves or others.
“I spoke with the President this morning about this proposal and he seems very supportive,” Graham said in a statement. “Many of these shootings involved individuals who showed signs of violent behavior that are either ignored or not followed up. State Red Flag laws will provide the tools for law enforcement to do something about many of these situations before it’s too late.”
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) also renewed calls for passing his and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin’s bill to expand background checks after Trump tweeted about the issue earlier in the day.
Graham said he would soon introduce a bill with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that would create a federal grant program to help law enforcement work with mental health professionals to take action when needed, while ensuring “robust due process and judicial review.”
Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, held a hearing earlier this year on red flag laws, which have been adopted by several states and the District of Columbia.
The National Rifle Association has said it supports the concept of red flag laws but has not backed any of the state laws that have passed.
Passage of legislation to promote red flag laws in the states would be a relatively modest response to the shootings that killed at least 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. But even that may be difficult with GOP opposition to most measures intended to curb gun violence.
Legislation to require background checks during all gun sales faces an even tougher route.
Trump floated the idea of tying action on background checks to immigration overhaul in a tweet Monday morning, but he made no mention of it in an address later at the White House, and most Senate Republicans are strongly opposed to the proposal.
Toomey told reporters Monday afternoon he had spoken with both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about his background checks bill. Toomey described Trump’s remarks on Twitter and in his speech as “encouraging.”
“I thought his comments this morning were very helpful and appropriate,” Toomey said. “My conversation with him this morning was very constructive.”
Toomey said he hopes momentum builds to pass his bill, but declined to offer more detail about his conversation with McConnell.
“If we have enough support in the Senate then we ought to have a vote,” Toomey said. ”And I intend to do everything I can to persuade Sen. McConnell if that’s necessary.”
The Manchin-Toomey bill failed to clear a 60-vote threshold in the Senate in 2013 and 2015, but Toomey noted that the Senate has new members who might not be familiar with the legislation.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders slammed McConnell for not bringing a background checks legislation passed by the House to the Senate floor. And they accused Trump of backing down from his calls for changes by not citing background checks in his speech.
“It took less than three hours for the president to back off his call for stronger background check legislation,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “When he can’t talk about guns when he talks about gun violence, it shows the president remains prisoner to the gun lobby and the NRA.”