Schumer: Trump must say he’ll veto gun silencer bill

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is demanding that President Trump say he would veto a bill that would ease regulations on gun silencers. 

“Today I am calling on the president to come out against the absurd law about silencers. Threaten to veto it if he must and put an end to that bill,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. 

Schumer appeared to be referring to a House bill, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act. The bill, authored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), would make it easier for people to buy gun silencers, also commonly referred to as suppressors. 

{mosads}Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on Tuesday that the bill isn’t currently scheduled to come up for a vote.

“I don’t know when it will be scheduled,” he added. 

Even if the bill passed the House, it would need to win over at least eight Democrats to pass the Senate and make it to Trump’s desk. 

Supporters of the legislation argue that even with a suppressor, gunshots are still loud. They’ve said Democrats are trying to politicize the bill in the wake of Sunday night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, where 59 people were killed and more than 500 others injured at a country music festival.

“Let me tell you something. One of the few ways the police had to go after this shooter was they could look for the sound, try to hear the sound of where the guns came from,” Schumer said on Tuesday. 

Schumer added that Trump should bring together congressional leadership to tell them he is “willing to address this issue of gun safety.” 

“If we truly want to honor our first responders and protect our fellow Americans, as we all say we do, President Trump should stand up and tell the [National Rifle Association] they are not always right,” he added. 

Democrats are expected to push for tougher gun control and background checks bills in the wake of Sunday’s shooting. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), for example, told reporters on Monday that he would introduce new legislation “shortly.” 

But any bill faces an uphill climb in a GOP-controlled Congress. The Senate rejected two background check measures days after a deadly mass shooting last year at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub killed 49.