WASHINGTON — Congress is still mulling over the language of a possible bipartisan deal on gun control legislation.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, has been the point man on the negotiations on the Republican side of things, something that has Indiana’s Republican senator, Todd Young, feeling comfortable about the process.
“I’m actually really encouraged that we have Sen. John Cornyn walking point on this negotiation. Like me, he is someone who has received an A+ rating from the NRA,” Young said on Bloomberg TV Radio. “He wants to make sure that our children are protected, that mentally ill people are not getting their hands on guns if they present a harm to others or to themselves.”
Both those points are mainstays of the framework being discussed and are two tenants that Young can get behind.
However, on Thursday talks with Democrats took a more sour note for Republicans as Cornyn walked out of talks with Democrats. Cornyn told reporters he doesn’t know what Democratic Senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona had in mind but that he was “through talking.”
It’s not exactly clear what led to Cornyn walking out on negotiations on Thursday. Still, Young seems optimistic that a deal can be reached.
“We have a framework … that would increase resourcing at schools to keep them safe, and provide more mental health resources to Americans among other priorities,” Young said. “I haven’t had the benefit of looking at that, but I’m going to give it fair consideration and I think it has a good chance of becoming law.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D) of Connecticut and Sen. Thom Tillis (R) of North Carolina later said the talks are close to reaching an agreement and that legislative text for a bill could emerge in the next few days.
