John Cornyn, 'linchpin' of a gun safety deal, seeks to tame GOP fears on gun rights

WASHINGTON — As bipartisan talks on legislation to tackle gun violence heat up, the chief Senate Republican negotiator, John Cornyn of Texas, has found himself in a familiar place: swatting away unfounded claims that the Senate is scheming to trample the Second Amendment.

“I want to be clear, though: We are not talking about restricting the rights of current law-abiding gun owners or citizens,” Cornyn said Monday in a floor speech. “What I’m interested in is keeping guns out of the hands of those who, by current law, are not supposed to have them: people with mental health problems, people who have criminal records.”

The remarks cut to the heart of the explosive gun politics within the Republican Party, which have been the main obstacle to Congress’ taking major action for decades, even as mass shootings become frequent in the U.S. Gun rights activists have depicted previous proposals to tackle gun violence, even if modest and popular, as slippery slopes to snatching their weapons.