He told Republicans: “You will not stop us from passing [gun control]. If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand. We will not rest until we’ve taken weapons of war out of our communities.”
The New York Democrat and “Squad" member made the bold claim during a Judiciary Committee markup of the Protecting Our Kids Act, a package of eight gun control bills that comes on the heels of a shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday that left four dead, one last week at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 dead and a shooting in Buffalo, New York where 10 were killed.
WATCH: DESANTIS ON WHY STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The bill would increase the purchasing age of certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles from 18 to 21 - as the shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde were both 18. It also goes after high-capacity magazines, ghost guns, and bump stocks and mandates certain requirements for firearms storage in residential facilities.
WATCH: REMEMBER SNL TIM MEADOWS AS OJ SIMPSON?
While Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that the House will vote on the legislation next week, the bill is unlikely to make it through the Senate, where 10 Republican votes are needed to break the filibuster.
WHEN SHADOW WARS COME TO LIGHT: IRAN-ISRAEL CONFLICT PLAYS OUT ON THE WORLD STAGE
Sen. Joe Manchin has repeated that he will not support his party in eliminating the filibuster, even to pass gun control.
The filibuster is an inhibitory strategy used by opponents of the legislation, seeking to delay proceedings until the issue is shelved infinitely. Sixty votes are needed to overwhelm a filibuster - something Democrats cannot reach with their razor-thin 50-50 Senate split.
OUTRAGE IN CHICAGO: FAR-LEFT RALLY CHEERS FAILED IRANIAN ASSAULT ON ISRAEL (WATCH)
However, doing away with the filibuster has hit severe opposition from the party’s moderate wing, securing the passage of critical points of President Joe Biden’s agenda like voting rights in the process.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has in recent years largely stayed away from gun issues, to the disappointment of gun rights advocates and even some justices. Justice Clarence Thomas declared in 2018: “Second Amendment is a disfavored right in this court.”
SENATOR RAND PAUL UNRAVELS GOVERNMENT SILENCE ON WUHAN LAB AND IT'S MIND-BLOWING
Still, currently, the court is considering views on a challenge to a New York state gun restriction that requires residents to obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon and demonstrate “proper cause” to obtain the permit.
Such reasonable cause must include a “special or unique danger to their life.” In 2008 the high court held for the first time that the Second Amendment allows Americans to keep and bear arms to defend their home.
UNMASKING THE HELLS ANGELS: ATF AGENT BREAKS SILENCE ON TWO-YEAR UNDERCOVER MISSION
“Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings,” then-Justice Antonin Scalia added in the majority opinion.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
