Attempts by "weak-kneed" Republicans to work with Democrats in the Senate on gun control legislation "never work out for the liberties of the American people," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday.
"History is replete with 'weak-kneed' Republicans cutting deals with Democrats," Donalds told "The Chris Salcedo Show." "Those deals never work out for the American people. Those deals never work out for the liberties of the American people."
Donalds was reacting to reports over the weekend a small group of Republican senators, led by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, were meeting with Democrats to try and hammer out a deal on gun control, The New York Times reported.
The negotiations come in the wake of the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 that killed 19 students and two teachers.
Cornyn, who said Washington's response to the tragedy, is "pathetic," and changes must be made "incrementally," rather than banning certain weapons.
"If we are going to come up with a solution, it is going to have to come from the Senate and, frankly, I think the White House understands that," Cornyn said in the Times article. [President Joe Biden] is not necessarily a unifying figure in today's politics."
In the aftermath of the shooting, Biden has called for a ban on AR-15 rifles, like one used in the shooting, calling them "weapons of war."
"We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," Biden said in a June 2 speech. "And if we can't ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21."
Donalds said the senators doing the negotiating are likely not running for reelection this year and do not have to be mindful of what the voters think about the proposed restrictions, but the measures being discussed would not have stopped the shootings in Texas, or in Buffalo, New York, the week before.
"What is being discussed on Capitol Hill right now would not have stopped the shootings in Uvalde, and it wouldn't have stopped the shootings in Buffalo," Donalds said. "Those are the facts. That's where we are at right now, but it's not going to be good for the American people."
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