They are to tied to the $$$ to do anything...

Michael Bennet after shooting: McConnell must act

By MATTHEW CHOI

Following a deadly shooting in Virginia Beach, Sen. Michael Bennet renewed calls for national background checks — but expressed doubt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would allow such legislation to go anywhere in the Senate.

"We should pass those background checks," the Colorado Democrat said on ABC‘s “This Week” on Sunday. "Ninety percent of the American people support it. But we know what's going to happen, which is the House has passed it, Mitch McConnell will not allow it to come to a vote in the Senate, and we will not have national background checks."

A gunman entered a public government building in Virginia Beach on Friday, killing 12 people; he was killed during a firefight with police. The shooter was a municipal employee who worked in the building and had purchased the firearms legally, Police Chief James Cervera said on ABC on Sunday. He also used a sound suppressor, which could make the gun shots difficult to hear throughout the building.

Bennet — who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 — mentioned that after the 1999 shootings in Columbine High School, his home state passed legislation to close loopholes that allowed criminals to purchase guns. He added that there were no legal barriers for the gunman in Virginia to acquire the weapons he used.

Bennet urged McConnell (R-Ky.) to advance legislation for national background checks, adding that it's "impossible" to argue Colorado is not safer after passing its post-Columbine measures. He also said the president "can make a difference" in bringing gun control to the forefront of Congress' agenda.

"My hope is that if McConnell does not take this on the floor, that the people of America and the people of Kentucky will hold him accountable for that and that we can actually put leadership in the Senate and the White House who will do something about this," Bennet said.

During his ABC Sunday appearance, Bennet also touched on the 2020 race, saying that he would back any candidate who could beat President Donald Trump. When asked if that included Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic socialist, Bennet said "absolutely." (Bennet has previously affirmed that the United States would not and should not become a socialist country.)

"The only way we'll lose to Donald Trump is if we disqualify ourselves," Bennet said.