U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was one of the lead negotiators on gun legislation signed into law this week by President Joe Biden.
“I am proud of what we were able to come up with," Cornyn said. "I do believe, in the end, the test is will this save lives? And I believe it will."
Mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, renewed pressure on Congress to get something done about guns.
“First of all, in this environment, there are a lot of people who wonder, 'Can our institutions really respond and work?' And I am talking about the federal government itself. I’m talking about the Senate, and I thought it was very important that we try to respond to what we kept hearing from people who said 'Do something,'” said Cornyn.
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Cornyn's leadership gave the bipartisan group working on the bill space to get something done.
In the end, the bill provides grants to states for "red flag" laws, requires enhanced background checks for people under 21 and there is money for youth mental health services.
The legislation would clarify which sellers are required to register as firearm licensees and it would toughen penalties for gun trafficking.
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The effort has Cornyn facing criticism from some in his own party. He was recently booed at the Texas Republican convention. He said everyone has a right to their opinion, but he would hope they would listen and be informed because there is a lot of misinformation.
“Look, I think it was disappointing but I wasn't going to let them keep me from coming, and trying, and just as I am not going to let anybody intimidate me from doing what I think is the right thing to do on behalf of 29 million Texans, “ said Cornyn.
We also asked him about people who don’t think the legislation went far enough.
“Well, welcome to the United States Senate. I can’t remember who it was who first coined the phrase that 'Politics is the art of the possible,'” he added.
We also spoke to Cornyn about the tragedy in San Antonio, the Roe v. Wade decision and a tweet of his that got a lot of attention. The rest of the interview will be added to this article Tuesday afternoon.
