Paralysis in Congress as Republicans and Democrats dither over gun control

Three weeks after 17 people were in killed in a massacre at a high school in Parkland, Congress is once again paralyzed over how to respond.

Republicans are pushing for swift action on measures that would enhance school safety in an effort to calm public outrage fueled by the student survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Democrats, meanwhile, are working to amplify that anger, determined that the immense pressure on lawmakers will finally break the decades-long gridlock over guns in Washington and produce meaningful firearms reforms.

Democrats are looking forward to a nationwide protest on 24 March, when hundreds of thousands of activists are expected to march against gun violence in Washington and dozens of other cities. The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced this week that Democrats would wait to force action on gun legislation until after the rally, “when our Republican friends see they are just against the nation”.

A majority of the public believe the Parkland students are effective advocates for gun control, according to a new Monmouth University poll released on Thursday. And 57% of the respondents said the students were having more of an impact on the gun debate than the victims of previous mass shootings.

Source: theguardian