Senators ask for committee vote on ‘red flag’ bills after shootings

Two senators are asking Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to give their “red flag” bills a vote in the wake of last weekend’s back-to-back mass shootings. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, sent a letter to Graham on Monday asking for a vote on her extreme risk, or “red flag,” bill. 

{mosads}”Given the President’s statement in support for these laws today, I again request that you put the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act on the agenda to be considered as soon as possible,” Feinstein wrote in the letter. 

Feinstein’s bill, which is backed by 25 Democratic senators and Independent Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine), would allow states to use grants to develop red flag laws that allow family members to petition courts for an order preventing someone from purchasing a gun. The state laws could also let family members petition for an order for law enforcement to remove a firearm. 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also urged Graham to take up his separate “red flag” bill, noting he had asked the committee to bring it up months ago. 

“My bi-partisan ‘Red Flag’ law was filed 18 months ago & again earlier this year. We asked Senate Judiciary to take it up as few months ago. I hope they will now do so. Identifying & stopping a killer before they act is best way to prevent these tragedies,” Rubio tweeted. 

Rubio’s bill is backed by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and King, which would also use grants to encourage states to pass “red flag” legislation. 

The push for Graham to give the two bills a vote comes as Graham announced on Monday that he would be introducing “red flag” legislation “in the very near future” with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). 

“I spoke with the President this morning about this proposal and he seems very supportive,” Graham said earlier Monday. 

Graham is one three GOP senators tapped by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to do bipartisan brainstorming about potential responses to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. 

“I asked them to reflect on the subjects the president raised within their jurisdictions and encouraged them to engage in bipartisan discussions of potential solutions to help protect our communities without infringing on Americans’ constitutional rights,” McConnell said in a statement.

In addition to Graham, McConnell said he spoke with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Lamar Alexander(R-Tenn.) and Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).