Top Republican negotiator leaves US gun law talks

"I'm through talking," says Senator John Cornyn as he exits Senate negotiations aimed at curbing gun violence plaguing the US.

Democratic and Republican negotiators have already reached a broad deal but still need to convert that accord into law, in hopes Congress could approve it before leaving for its July 4 recess.
AP

Democratic and Republican negotiators have already reached a broad deal but still need to convert that accord into law, in hopes Congress could approve it before leaving for its July 4 recess.

The lead Republican negotiator in US Senate efforts to craft a bipartisan gun safety bill has walked out of the talks, raising questions about whether lawmakers will vote on the legislation before leaving for a two-week July 4 recess.

"It's fish or cut bait," Senator John Cornyn said on Thursday after hours of negotiations that included his fellow Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Kyrsten Sinema.

"I don't know what they have in mind, but I'm through talking," Cornyn said.

Tillis and Murphy later said the talks were close to reaching an agreement and added that legislative text for a bill could emerge in the coming days.

The bipartisan group has been working on a deal to curb gun violence since a gunman killed 19 school children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, just 10 days after a separate gunman killed 10 people in a racist attack against Black people in Buffalo, New York. Talks have bogged down in recent days.

"To land a deal like this is difficult. It comes with a lot of emotions. It comes with political risk to both sides. But we're close enough that we should be able to get there," said Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator.

READ MORE: US senators unveil limited proposal on gun violence measures

Gun legislation

Time to pass major legislation is running short as the November 8 midterm elections, when Republicans are looking to win back control of Congress, draw nearer.

Murphy and Tillis each told reporters that staff has begun drafting legislative text for the majority of provisions that lawmakers have agreed on. 

Tillis suggested that text could be available as early as Friday.

Tillis, saying he expected a deal, declined to speak in detail about the negotiations: "We're too close and down to the final stages."

The group announced a framework on measures to curb gun violence on Sunday. It did not go as far as Democrats including President Joe Biden had sought, but would still be the most significant action to combat gun violence to emerge from Congress in years if passed.

READ MORE: Massive US rally demands changes in gun laws after recent shootings

Disagreements

Disagreements remained over two main provisions: how to provide incentives to states to create red flag laws, in which guns can be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed dangerous; and the "boyfriend loophole," which allows authorities to block abusive spouses from buying firearms but does not cover "intimate partners" who are not married.

Cornyn, whose home state of Texas does not have a red-flag law and is seen as unlikely to enact one, wants the funding for that provision to cover other efforts for people with mental illness, such as "crisis intervention programmes."

Tillis said the negotiators were working out a mechanism that would allow federal funding for states that want to adopt red-flag laws and states that favour other intervention programmes, with parity the ultimate goal.

He also said the lawmakers were looking to existing state laws as models for the "boyfriend loophole" provision.

READ MORE: Girl who played dead during Texas mass shooting testifies at US Congress

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