Murphy says he sees more ‘Republican interest’ in talking about gun legislation

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Sunday that he has seen more of his Republican colleagues take an interest in crafting some semblance of gun legislation following the massacre at a Texas elementary school. 

During Murphy’s appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan asked the lawmaker whether there are 10 Republican senators who would be willing to vote in favor of some type of gun-related legislation.

“I think we can. I think there’s something dying inside the soul of this country when we refuse to act at a national level shooting after shooting,” Murphy told Brennan. 

“And I do think there’s an opportunity right now to be able to pass something significant. I’ve seen more Republican interest in coming to the table and talking this time than any other moment since Sandy Hook.”

Murphy also said that he does not believe Republicans supporting some type of tightening of gun laws means the sky would “fall for you politically.” 

“In fact, you probably will get a lot of new additional supporters. So ‘red flag’ laws are on the table. Background checks, expansion and on the table as well as things like safe storage of guns. I think we can get something done, but we don’t have a lot of time,” he added.

Murphy’s remarks come after 19 schoolchildren and two teachers were killed and 17 other people were injured on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, when a gunman opened fire inside a fourth grade classroom at Robb Elementary School. 

The Connecticut Democrat, an outspoken advocate for gun laws since the Sandy Hook school shooting a decade ago, said communities rarely, if ever, recover from such tragedies.

“We need to understand we are putting on top of kids today who already are living in an era of social media and pandemics, a level of trauma and fear that makes it very difficult for them to learn when they are in school,” Murphy said. 

“It only happens in America. And when a shooting like this happens in a neighborhood or in a school, those communities never, ever recover. That’s just the reality,” he said.