Rep. Lynch Says Gun Control Is In Mitch McConnell's Hands

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., points gestures while announcing his bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated with the resignation of John Kerry at Ironworkers Local 7 in Boston, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.

Arjun Singh is a producer for Boston Public Radio. A California native, Arjun moved to Boston to study international relations at Boston University. Prior to working at WGBH, Arjun worked at a tech company and for a political campaign.

August 07, 2019

Updated August 07, 2019

After two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton this weekend, Rep. Stephen Lynch said he believes it’s time for Congress to pass a universal background check bill, but has no faith in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to help move it through the Senate.

"Right now, he’s just got a hold on it, and he has said over the past couple of days that he won’t bring it up," Lynch said during an interview with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. "I’m not sure if Mitch is more committed to the president's agenda or the NRA’s agenda."

On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump told reporters that he thinks Congress is getting close to sending a universal background check bill to his desk, but Lynch said he “[doesn’t] know what the president is talking about.”

Lynch said that he believes the most important thing the Democratic-controlled House can do right now is focus on convincing Senate Republicans to endorse a universal background check bill, a policy he thinks has the best chance at garnering bipartisan support and that will have the most widespread impact on stopping gun violence.

“We thought because the public pressure is there on the Republicans in the Senate, we thought this bill was the most reasonable and would have the greatest likelihood to pass, and would have the greatest positive impact on society,” said Lynch, a 19-year veteran of the House of Representatives. “We keep sending bills over there, and the Senate is a place where good ideas go to die.”

While the South Boston congressman said that he’s in favor of banning assault weapons and high capacity magazine rounds, he doesn’t think the idea is politically feasible or the most effective way to deal with gun violence. Lynch said bills that would ban certain types of weapons would not address what he views as the root of the problem: the ability of mentally ill individuals to legally purchase a gun.

“It’s the person who is buying the weapon. Whether they’re getting a conventional weapon, which kills a lot of people, or a high capacity weapon,” Lynch said. “If we say, ‘Oh, you can’t buy that one, but you can buy these other 50,’ I don’t think that stops the [unstable individuals] from getting weapons, honestly.”