House Democrats to vote on ‘red flag’ proposal in early June

House Democrats will vote early next month on legislation designed to keep firearms from the hands of potentially dangerous people, an indication that party leaders are wasting no time moving on legislation designed to rein in gun violence following Tuesday’s shooting massacre at an elementary school in Texas.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), would nationalize so-called “red flag” laws, which empower courts to issue protective orders barring people from buying or possessing firearms if a judge deems them to be a threat to themselves or others. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the decision Wednesday afternoon on Twitter, saying the vote will occur in the second week of June, when the House returns to Washington, D.C., after a long recess for the Memorial Day holiday. 

“Congress must do more to #EndGunViolence,” Hoyer tweeted. “During the first week of the June work period, I will bring @RepLucyMcBath’s bill to the Floor to establish a national ‘Red Flag’ law to prevent those who pose a threat to themselves or others from being able to legally possess a firearm.”

The House announcement arrives as Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling to gauge support for a host of anti-violence proposals in the wake of Tuesday’s tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, a small city west of San Antonio where a lone teenage gunman entered an elementary school and killed 19 children and two educators. Several other young students were wounded, but are expected to survive, Texas officials said Wednesday. 

The gunman, an 18-year-old student at a nearby high school, had reportedly shown signs of disturbing behavior, including threats of violence, leading up to the shooting. He was confronted by Border Patrol officers inside the school, where he was shot and killed, according to the Texas officials. 

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already have red flag laws on the books. The statutes are designed to preempt incidents of gun violence by empowering third parties, including concerned family members and law enforcement officials, to petition the courts to issue “extreme risk” protective orders barring firearm sales to individuals thought to be a threat. 

McBath’s bill would expand that option nationwide, authorizing federal courts to issue those protective orders. The legislation was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee last October by a vote of 24-18, indicating the overwhelming opposition of Republicans. 

Still, some GOP lawmakers are warming to the idea following Tuesday’s shooting. 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Wednesday that she’s already in talks with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an ardent gun reform advocate, about moving red flag legislation through the upper chamber. Collins argues that the red flag approach would be more effective in a case like Uvalde, since the shooter reportedly purchased his weapons legally after a background check.

“That is the kind of law that could have made a difference in this case since, according to press reports, if they are accurate, it appears that he suffered from mental illness,” Collins told reporters Wednesday in the Capitol.

It’s hardly clear, however, that such a proposal can win the 60 votes needed to pass through the Senate, where Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed to virtually any new restriction on the sale or possession of firearms. For that reason, gun reform legislation has had a dismal track record over the last decade. Indeed, some GOP senators are already rejecting the red flag proposals this week. 

“There’s a lot of talk about that. And I just think it’s so complicated that it’s hard for me to envision how that would solve the problem,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told reporters Wednesday in the Capitol. 

Faced with such opposition, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday that Democrats have no plans to rush gun violence bills to the floor, but will instead work with Republicans in search of some legislation that can win 60 votes in the upper chamber. 

He was not optimistic about their prospects, instead using his floor speech to hammer Republicans for opposing gun reforms and urging voters to remember the issue at the polls in November’s midterm elections.

“Americans can cast their vote in November for senators or members of Congress that reflect how he or she stands with guns,” Schumer said. “In the meantime, my Republican colleagues can work with us now. I know this is a slim prospect, very slim, all too slim. We’ve been burnt so many times before. But this is so important.” 

Updated at 4:41 p.m.