Luke Mixon, a Democrat campaigning to defeat U.S. Sen. John Kennedy this fall, is calling on Kennedy to support requiring background checks on all gun sales.
“Background checks will not stop every shooting death, but they will save lives,” Mixon said. “Moreover, 90% of Americans support this measure. Background checks are a good start, and the time to act is now.”
Mixon made his statement after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday. That came 10 days after a white supremacist gunned down 10 Black shoppers at a Buffalo grocery store.
“I cannot imagine the pain and heartache parents bear when their child’s life is cut short by senseless violence,” Mixon added.
Kennedy, a Republican, decried the violence but seems unmoved politically.
Asked whether he would support extending background checks to gun shows and Internet sales, Kennedy said in a statement, “Clearly there’s a problem with disturbed young men, and I don’t know that any law can heal this sickness unless communities and our society grapple with it and its causes frankly. Unfortunately, what we get out of Washington when these tragedies happen is more self-satisfied political grandstanding than workable solutions. For a lot of people, gun control means banning guns, but that’s unconstitutional and ineffective. If gun control laws like that worked, Chicago would be Mayberry.”
Rejoined Mixon, a former Naval pilot: “We all feel sick, sad, and angry about the recent mass shootings and the spike of violent crime. But John Kennedy is a sitting United States Senator. He has a position of authority and can do more than talk and offer condolences. Senator Kennedy can act.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, is moving forward to pass a pair of bills that would expand criminal background checks and lengthen the waiting period for gun buyers flagged by the instant background check system to give the FBI more time to investigate. The House passed the measures in 2019 and again last year but have died in the Senate amid unyielding Republican opposition.
Kennedy wants Democrats to support passing narrower measures.
“What also concerns me is that some people in D.C. have already started operating in bad faith when it comes to solutions from across the aisle,” he said. “Sen. Schumer, for example, just blocked a bill this week that would direct the Department of Homeland Security to work directly with schools to implement best practices in school safety. The bill would have passed if Sen. Schumer had not blocked it.”
Gary Chambers Jr., another Democrat challenging Kennedy, agrees with Mixon on the need for expanded background checks prior to approval of guns sales.
“We don’t trust 18-year-olds to drink alcohol, but we trust them with bullets and a gun?” Chambers said in a statement. “That is a core issue in these mass shootings, as well as gun violence in our communities. It’s too easy for young people to get guns in this country legally and illegally.
“As a gun owner who believes firmly in the right to self-defense, I take no issue with passing a background check or having a waiting period. This isn’t just about mental health; it’s about ease of access.”
The Senate primary will be held on Nov. 8. If either candidate wins at least 50%, there will be no runoff on Dec. 10.