Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Democrats’ chief political strategist in the Senate, said on Tuesday Democrats are not planning on introducing gun control measures in the Senate despite pressure to do so by the chamber’s more liberal members, such as Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
“I think we have to wait and see how this plays out,” Reid told reporters, according to The Hill.”I think we should just wait for a reasonable period of time before people are off making statements about what they should do and what they shouldn’t do and also recognize what we’re doing here in the Senate.”
Schumer, punting on the issue, said since the House would not be able to pass any gun control legislation, it would be pointless to bring any up in the Senate.
Democrats, according to The Hill, have pressured their leaders to ban weapons labelled as “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines.
Reid represents a state (Nevada) that does not favor gun control and almost received the NRA’s endorsement in 2010 when he barely won reelection. Schumer is politically savvy enough to know that gun control legislation will only hurt Democrats nationally.
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