Pelosi on new gun control legislation: ‘Really it’s all up to the Speaker’

WASHINGTON- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday said House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is the ultimate arbiter in deciding whether the lower chamber considers new gun control legislation.

“Really it’s all up to the Speaker,” Pelosi said at a news conference. “Is he going to bring a bill to the floor,” she pondered.

Pelosi’s remarks come less than a week after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

At least 58 were killed and more than 500 others were injured Sunday evening when a lone gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers on a lot across the street from the hotel.

The shooter reportedly committed suicide as police attempted to enter his room.

Police discovered 23 rifles in the shooter’s room and a dozen of those weapons are believed to have contained bump fire stocks, which enable semi-automatic weapons to operate in a capacity similar to automatic weapons.

Pelosi said Democrats and Republicans should work together to pass legislation that would outlaw bump fire stocks but said that such legislation would not serve as a substitute for expanding background checks. Pelosi also called on GOP congressional leaders to withdraw legislation that would make it easier for gun owners to purchase silencers.

Ryan on Thursday morning told MSNBC that he was not familiar with bump fire stocks prior to Sunday’s mass shooting but said of potential legislation banning the mechanism: “Clearly that’s something we need to look into.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would ban bump fire stocks. The bill does not have any Republican co-sponors but several GOP senators have said they are considering the proposal.

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News