President Joe Biden on Tuesday met with the top Democratic senator trying to craft a compromise on gun safety legislation, the White House announced, as senators on both sides of the aisle appear optimistic about the prospect of a bipartisan gun reform bill.
The president’s top spokeswoman said that Biden sat down with Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a longtime gun safety advocate who previously represented Newtown, Connecticut, the site of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Murphy has been working with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and a broader bipartisan group of senators to try and craft a deal after a Texas shooting that left 21 dead, including 19 children, and a supermarket shooting in Buffalo where 10 Black people were killed. Muprhy previously told CNN on Sunday that red flag laws and background checks are on the table — in addition to enhanced school safety measures and funding for new mental health programs.
Speaking at a press conference with Senate Democrats later Tuesday, Murphy said that he was "encouraged" by the discussions he was having with his Republican colleagues and expressed gratitude toward the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for "giving us the space that we need to land an agreement."
"All of us were home in our states last week, and I think we all had a common experience," Murphy said. "In Connecticut, the level of anxiety and fear and unrest from parents and kids that I talked to has no precedent. Parents and kids are really worried about their safety, and they're equally worried that the adults who run the country aren't serious about protecting our communities and our schools."
Murphy warned that a bipartisan agreement "won't come close to the full list of things I think are necessary to curb this epidemic" of gun violence, but said that inaction is unacceptable.
"The American people are looking for progress," Murphy said. "Right now. They're looking for action. And my hope is in the coming days, we'll be able to come together in a way that gets us 60+ votes," enough to overcome the Senate's legislative filibuster threshold.
"This, to me, feels like a moment where doing nothing is simply not an option," he continued. "Now, we have to pass legislation that saves lives, none of us should be interested in just checking a box."
Tuesday’s meeting could indicate that negotiations on Capitol Hill are progressing. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had previously said the president would stay out of early negotiations on gun reform in order to “give it the space that it needs,” while confirming that White House aides had been in “constant communication” with lawmakers.
"I'm encouraged by the discussions that we have had with Republicans over the course of the last week and a half," Murphy said Tuesday afternoon. "Every day we get closer to an agreement, not further away."
"My passion for this issue is not coincidental to the fact that I have a fourth grader, same age as those kids in Uvalde," Murphy continued. "And my fourth grader should not have had to go to school the day after Uvalde and had the conversations with his classmates that he did, about where they would run, where they would hide if the same thing happened to them only in America to those conversations happen.
"My belief is that Republicans are engaged sincerely in these discussions," he concluded. "And my hope is that we will be able to have a compromise product that saves lives on the table for our colleagues to consider very shortly and again, I'm very grateful to all the members of our caucus that have supported us in these efforts."
Earlier Tuesday, Murphy spoke at a new memorial for victims of gun violence on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. More than 45,000 flowers are displayed to represent the growing number of Americans who die by guns each year.
“We're not going to settle for a piece of legislation that just checks the box. We are only going to move forward with a piece of legislation that saves lives,” Murphy told the crowd Tuesday, saying that there are “a lot of very scared parents and kids out there today.”
The memorial is a project from Giffords, the organization focused on ending gun violence founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head by a gunman in Arizona in 2012.
“Stopping gun violence takes courage, the courage to do what's right,” Giffords said. “We must never stop fighting. Fight, fight, fight. Be bold. Be courageous. The nation's counting on you.”
Murphy had told reporters on Monday that talks have reached a “more advanced” stage, with the goal being “to have an agreement by the end of this week.” Murphy also said that the leaders of both parties, McConnell and Schumer were being kept informed of the progress.
Cornyn praised Murphy on Monday, telling NBC News that the Connecticut Democrat is "going where he needs to go to get a deal" on gun safety legislation.
Schumer had previously expressed that he wants an accord reached by the end of this week, but acknowledged Tuesday that lawmakers need "space" to complete negotiations.
"Sen. Murphy has asked for space to have the talks continue, and I have given him the space," Schumer said on the Senate floor on Tuesday, adding: "I’m encouraging my Democratic colleagues to keep talking, to see if Republicans will work with us to come up with something that will make a meaningful change in the lives of the American people and stop gun violence."
Schumer said Tuesday that he has faith in Murphy and the other members of the Democratic caucus in their negotiations: "I don’t think they would bring to us a deal without teeth."
Murphy told CNN on Sunday that lawmakers are “not going to do anything that compromises people's Second Amendment rights,” noting that “there's agreement amongst the negotiators that we're going to take some common sense steps that do not compromise Second Amendment rights.”