Sen. Chuck Schumer is the Senate majority leader. As such, he has the opportunity to decide a few things, particularly with regard to what will be up for consideration in that chamber.
And gun control was always part of the agenda, at least in theory.
Following a lot of shootings over the July 4th holiday weekend–which wasn’t much of a weekend since the 4th was on a Tuesday, meaning people went back to work on Monday in many cases–President Joe Biden called for gun control.
Because of course he did. The toilet flushes and he calls for gun control, for crying out loud.
But Schumer is pushing for it, too.
Schumer’s spokesperson, Allison Biasotti, spoke on Schumer’s gun control push, saying:
Leader Schumer was proud to have passed a significant bipartisan gun safety bill through the Senate last summer but more must be done. Schumer continues to work with his caucus to find a path forward that can garner enough Republican support and combat the scourge of gun violence, save lives and bring meaningful change.
Schumer will have to get 60 votes to pass gun control, and the prospects are not high.
Moreover, any gun control that may pass the Senate is likely defeated once it reaches the Republican-controlled House.
So, basically, Schumer can push for whatever he wants, but he’s not going to get it. The votes aren’t there.
Moreover, there’s a lot going on that had nothing to do with whether or not it’s too easy to buy a gun.
For example, July 4th was hot. Like, the hottest day on record ever.
The connection between heat and violence has been long documented, even if it’s not particularly well understood. The idea that during the hottest period on record that we saw a massive uptick in violence isn’t shocking.
It’s troubling, sure, but there’s something else Schumer isn’t accounting for, and that’s how most of these aren’t what people think of as mass shootings.
These were often gang-type shootings that just resulted in a lot of innocent people being caught in the crossfire. That means the guns were likely obtained illegally, which gun control is never going to address.
That means even if Schumer could get something through Congress–he can’t, but bear with me here–it’s unlikely to actually do anything the next time we have such hot weather.
But for Schumer, it’s not about whether gun control will work or whether he can get it passed in the first place. It’s about uttering the mantra. It’s about saying the magic words he needs to the Democrats who vote for him don’t doubt that he’s going to Do Something(TM).
They want him to do something, but so long as he says the words and makes the right moves, he’s fine with them. They’ll keep voting for him because he tells them what they want to hear.
Gun control, though, isn’t the answer. It’s not even close to the answer. Unless the answer is how Chuck Schumer can keep getting re-elected, that is.
