Stock image of John Cornyn speaking with reporters
(Picture: REUTERS)The lead Republican senator has walked out of gun law negotiations with the Democrats on Thursday.
John Cornyn, of Texas, said he was “done” and that he was flying home as the bipartisan group remained divided over finalising a deal cracking down on gun violence.
The talks come in the wake of a school shooting where 19 kids and two teachers were killed in Uvalde, Texas, and a racially motivated supermarket shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York City.
But their self-imposed deadline to hold votes in Congress next week is looming.
Mr Cornyn said: “I’m not frustrated, I’m done.”
He added: "This is the hardest part because at some point, you just got to make a decision. And when people don't want to make a decision, you can't accomplish the result. And that's kind of where we are right now.”
Democratic and Republican senators were at odds over how to keep firearms from dangerous people.
They were divided over how to define abusive dating partners who would be legally barred from purchasing guns.
Also, there were disagreements over proposals to send money to states that have “red flag” laws to allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people who are deemed dangerous by courts and to other states for their own violence prevention schemes.
President Joe Biden, senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and house speaker Nancy Pelosi have endorsed an outline of a deal.
A deal must be completed and written into legislative language by the end of the week if Congress is to vote by next week.
It begins a July 4 recess after that.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy said when the meeting ended: “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."
The measure would impose small curbs on guns.
It would be a milestone for Congress as their most robust move against gun violence since 1993.
A ban lawmakers enacted that year on assault weapons took effect in 1994 and expired after a decade.
