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Trump slammed as pressure mounts for gun controls
WASHINGTON, Aug 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Pressure built on the US Congress to
pass tough gun control legislation Thursday as the mother of the man arrested
for the slaughter of 22 people in El Paso, Texas said she had called police
out of concern he had a military-style weapon.
But President Donald Trump and most Republicans continued to rebuff calls
for action against an epidemic of mass shootings, conscious of the importance
of gun owners to the party in next year’s national elections.
The White House, meanwhile, was accused of using the two shootings last
weekend to promote Trump, after it released a video of his visit to
hospitalized shooting victims. An aide gushed it showed him being greeted
like a “rock star.”
Lawyers for the mother of Patrick Crusius, the accused El Paso shooter,
said she had called police in Allen, Texas weeks before the August 3 attack
because she was concerned about his owning an AK-47-type assault rifle.
The lawyers, Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres, of Dallas, told CNN that
Crusius’ mother was worried given her son’s age, maturity level and lack of
experience with such a weapon.
But a police officer told her that her 21-year-old son was legally allowed
to purchase the weapon, and nothing was done about the “informational” call,
according to the lawyers.
– Angry US mayors –
The news fed into mounting anger in the wake of the back-to-back shootings
in El Paso on Saturday and Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, which together left 31
dead and many more wounded. Both attacks were carried out by solitary white
men armed with assault weapons.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the country’s most senior Democratic
politician, wrote a letter to Trump urging him to call the Republican-
controlled Senate back from its summer break to consider “gun violence
prevention” legislation.
“This extraordinary moment in our history requires all of us to take
extraordinary action to save lives,” Pelosi wrote.
In an open letter, 214 US mayors made the same demand.
Their letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and
senior Democrat Chuck Schumer, noted there have been more than 250 mass
shootings in the United States this year.
“The tragic events in El Paso and Dayton this weekend are just the latest
reminders that our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to
take the actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to
firearms from being able to purchase them,” the letter said.
Like Pelosi’s letter, the one from the mayors pointed to two background
check bills passed by the House that McConnell has essentially blocked from
consideration in the Senate.
McConnell indicated Thursday he would not reconvene the Senate, saying
lawmakers would have “bipartisan discussions” and “when we get back,
hopefully be able to come together and actually pass something.”
Pelosi and Schumer spoke on the phone with Trump later Thursday, and said
the president “gave us his assurances that he would review the bipartisan
House-passed legislation and understood our interest in moving as quickly as
possible to help save lives.”
Trump said Wednesday that he supported legislation to block gun sales to
people with mental health issues, but did not endorse stronger measures.
“I can tell you there is no political appetite for that at this moment,”
Trump said.
Those measures include universal background checks for all gun sales
contained in the House measure, and bans on the assault rifles used in many
mass shootings.
The head of America’s powerful gun lobby on Thursday rejected tougher
restrictions on firearms, saying they would not have stopped the shootings in
Texas and Ohio.
“The NRA opposes any legislation that unfairly infringes upon the rights of
law-abiding citizens,” Wayne LaPierre said in a statement.
– Trump assailed for self-promotion –
Meanwhile, Trump was assailed for using his Wednesday trip to the sites of
the two shootings to promote himself.
Trump visited hospitals in El Paso and Dayton and the White House released
photographs and video footage showing doctors and nurses applauding him.
“The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was
all caught on video. They all loved seeing their great President!” tweeted
Dan Scavino, the White House social media director.
“The love, the respect for the office of the presidency — I wish you could
have been in there to see it,” Trump told journalists.
Protestors against Trump’s visit to El Paso said he was not focusing on the
victims and the tragedy.
“The only thing we’re talking about is Trump right now, we’re not talking
about the victims, and Trump needed to stay in Washington and get some new
… gun laws,” said Bill Cooks.
Democrats slammed Trump, accusing him of exploiting the mass shootings “for
his personal gain.”
“Innocent Americans were slaughtered. And you spin a presidential visit
like a vanity project,” said New York legislator Hakeem Jeffries.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0854 hrs