The leader of the New York State Senate Democrats says she’s disappointed that her Republican colleague voted down a package of gun control measures that Democrats brought to the floor Wednesday. Andrea Stewart-Cousins says she was initially optimistic.
"They have apparently followed the lead of their allies in Washington who aren't able to do anything when it comes to sensible gun control. I was hoping that New York would be at least an example of how again we take common sense proposals, reasonable proposals, we're talking about bump stocks, even the president said he was going to do that."
The measures would ban possession of the bump stocks, the ammunition boosters that were used in the Las Vegas shootings which killed 58 people. They would also enact an extreme risk protection order to allow judges to take away guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. Senate Republican Majority Leader John Flanagan said in a statement that the GOP is working on its own plan, including stepped up safety in schools, and will release it next week.
Meanwhile, there’s also some movement on gun legislation by Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a conference call today they’re debating a number of provisions, but wouldn’t get into specifics.
"We're in the process of having meetings, right now, to discuss exactly what we should put in our package and it will be ready by the end of the week."
He says they even consulted survivors of the school shooting in Florida.
"I just met with the kids from Parkland yesterday [Tuesday] and they were very very helpful and instructive in what direction we're going in. We're pulling everyone together and we're going to have a very strong package."
Advocates for additional gun safety measures have called for full background checks, assault weapon bans, and a mental health database.