The common response was an expression of sorrow for the victims and their families followed by non-specific suggestions that did not reference firearms control or reduction. None indicated support for federal red-flag laws such as the one advocated last year by President Joe Biden.
Hereās a synopsis of the senatorsā responses:
Romney: The Utah senator, who has received more than $13 million in contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA) in his career, struck a conciliatory tone: āBackground checks and updating our background-check technology is an appropriate federal responsibility.ā But while said he was ālooking atā the Toomey-Manchin gun proposal, Romney added he would need to decide āwhether I could support that or whether there might be some amendments that would make it more acceptable.ā As to red-flags, Romney said he supported them at the state level but didnāt see a federal role.
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Hawley: The insurrectionist senator was the most hostile to red-flag laws, even at the state level. āIt depends on the law. That means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Thereās a wide variance of what kind of due-process protection is provide, what sort of evidence the government has to (produce), whether thereās a mental-health condition and what sort of discretion the judge has.ā Asked by a reporter, do you at least see an opening to discuss that at a national level, Hawley demurred: āAt the national level? I donāt know about that. Itās something the states can do if they want to, but Iāve got a lot of concerns with a lot of the red-flag laws out there.ā
Graham: Asked about red laws, the senator was Grahamesque: āBring it all up, vote on it. I donāt know what they want to do. I want to secure schools.ā
Barrasso: Asked if he was in the āpocket of the gun lobby ā Barrasso didnāt flinch: āIām from Wyoming. We are strong supporters of the Second Amendment, as opposed to an organization, itās an amendment to which we are committed. It does seems like when tragedies occur like this horrendous situation in Texas with this senseless loss of life, I want to know why someone could get into a school like that.ā Barrasso said schools need to be āhardenedā to prevent criminals from entering. But he added, āIt does seem that the Democrats just want to immediately take away peopleās guns. They donāt want people to be able to buy, own or transport legal firearms. Thatās the place they want to go first.ā
Scott: The senator spoke about the sorrow of having been through four mass shootings, including Parkland, while he was governor of Florida. But asked about what to do at the federal level, Scott spoke of āsome thingsā he did at the state level. He referenced the Eagleās Act providing threat assessments and sharing information about schoolās best practices, but āmost of the things you need to do are at the state level.ā He too, charged that āthe Democrats want to constantly go to taking someoneās Second Amendment rights away.ā
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Cramer: He spokes of how āpainfulā and āheartbreakingā the killings were to watch and that there were āno words to comfort the parents.ā However, Cramer pivoted to saying, āitās best to wait to make major policy decisionsā because of the emotion surrounding mass shootings. When a reporter noted that it has been 10 years since the Newtown tragedy and no major new guns law have passed, Cramer responded, āRight, right, because the principle hasnāt changed, the Second Amendment, the constitutional right hasnāt changed, the vast, vast majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens. None of that has changed in the past decade.ā He said, āI feel that we could more to empower professional therapists and family members to intervene in their lives when there are mental health and addiction issues.ā But he added, āthe weapon of choice is less important that the person who pulled the trigger.ā Cramer admitted that if he supported gun control, āmost of the voters of North Dakota ā and not just Republican voters would probably throw me out of office.ā
Caputo: After expressing that the shootings were āhorrifying,ā Caputoās responded to a question about new gun laws, āMy understanding is that Senator Schumer said he was going to look toward something bipartisan. Weāll just have to see what comes from those discussions.ā She then declined to answer specific questions.
Collins: She said she supports Congress passing red-flag laws, but there was a twist. āI hope weāll look at passing a yellow or flag law such as the state of Maine has with the involvement of a medical professional, the courts and due process.ā But asked about a federal law, she said āwhat you have to do is incentivize the states to pass that.ā