Mitch McConnell Pledges Votes for Any Gun Control Trump Supports

During a September 3 appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pledged votes for any gun control supported by President Trump.

He made clear there will be no votes for gun control without Trump’s support, as that would simply signal votes for legislation that will not become law.

McConnell told Hewitt:

I said several weeks ago that if the President took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor. And the administration is in the process of studying what they are prepared to support, if anything. And I expect to get an answer to that next week. If the President is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it’ll become law, I’ll put it on the floor.

On August 8, Breitbart News reported McConnell’s observation that an “assault weapons” ban and universal background checks would hold a key spot in the gun control debate once the Senate reconvenes.

NPR quoted McConnell discussing an “assault weapons” ban, saying:

We had that ban for about a 10-year period. There’s a good deal of dispute about whether it actually had an impact or not. It’s certainly one of the front and center issues. I think … probably background checks and red flags will probably lead the discussion. But a lot of other things will come up as well.

Trump pushed for bipartisan action on background checks on August 5 and August 7, just days after the heinous attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. However, on September 1, Trump told reporters that the recent history of mass public shootings suggests more background checks would not have prevented the attacks.

The guns used in the El Paso and Dayton attacks were acquired legally.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.