'My deepest sympathies are with the families of those who died,' Reid says. Reid: Pass background checks

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called on the Senate Monday to pass background checks on guns in the wake of a Sunday shooting in Las Vegas that killed two police officers.

Coming to the floor with “a lot of sadness,” the Nevada Democrat paid tribute to the two officers killed at a Nevada pizzeria “for no reason other than the weirdness, craziness of this couple,” referring to Jerad and Amanda Miller, who police say killed three people on Sunday before killing themselves. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Jerad Miller has a lengthy criminal history.


Reid said that the “American people are depending” on the Senate to pass background checks to keep guns out of the hands of people like the Millers, his first unprompted mention of revisiting gun legislation in the Senate in months. In the wake of mass shootings, Reid is occasionally asked by reporters of the Senate’s appetite to tackle background checks after last year’s failed vote. Reid answers that the Senate will take up background checks when it has the votes to pass something.

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But one day after the Las Vegas shooting, Reid was more forceful, strongly advocating that the Senate revisit background checks legislation, which fell short last April of 60 votes, 54-46.

“My deepest sympathies are with the families of those who died. We in Congress, we do need to put in place legislation that helps prevent these deranged, these weird, these evil people who carry out such savage acts of violence. Background checks so that people who are criminals, who are deranged can’t buy a gun,” Reid said. “The American people are depending on us to pass legislation to prevent gun violence and safeguard communities, schools and families.”

Ticking off recent mass shootings in California and Seattle, Reid looked inward at Capitol Hill — where violence is not unheard of. A woman was shot by police after a harried chase between the Capitol and the White House just eight months ago, an event that placed the Capitol on lockdown for hours and reminded congressional denizens of the danger all around them.

“We can’t take for granted here in the Senate the people looking after us. There are people out there who are so evil who try every day to do harm to not only [Sen. Patrick Leahy], not only me, but people who work in these buildings, the tourists that come to these buildings,” Reid said. “So if there’s any complaint about having too much security, come to me. I’ll try to explain to people why we need it.”