Rep. Bill Pascrell: Paul Ryan 'Lost His Guts' on Gun Control

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and other Democrats took aim Tuesday at House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for not taking up legislation on gun control.

"Paul Ryan has lost his guts . . . come on, who are we kidding here?" Pascrell said, The Hill reported.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Republican leaders would not put expansion of background checks for gun ownership up for vote despite public support.

"Ninety-seven percent of the people want to see the gun checks comprehensive and you can't get a gun until your check is complete," Hoyer said in The Hill's report. "Overwhelming, and this Republican leadership will not put it on the floor so that the people's House can consider it. It's shameful."

"The House has acted and leaders now believe it's the Senate's turn to act," a senior GOP aide said in The Hill.

The House approved late in 2017 a bipartisan bill to beef up the FBI background checks preceding gun sales. The bill was paired up with a bill for expanding concealed-carry gun rights throughout the U.S., which Democrats are against, so the bill has not gone further in the Senate.

House Republicans are focusing on mistakes that law enforcement made following the mass shooting at a Florida high school, The Hill noted in an earlier report Tuesday.

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