WASHINGTON — The mass shooting in Las Vegas that left at least 58 dead and hundreds injured has renewed the national debate on gun control. But if history is any guide, even the nation’s deadliest mass shooting is unlikely to produce stricter gun laws.

Democrats were quick to renew pleas for action Monday, and Republicans, who control both the White House and Congress, were just as quick to turn aside such demands as premature or wrongheaded.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called it "positively infuriating" that Congress has not passed major gun control legislation since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Murphy represents Newtown, where a gunman killed 20 children and seven adults in 2012.

"The thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It's time for Congress to get off its [expletive] and do something," Murphy said.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and the second-ranking member of the Senate, denounced comments by those who have already begun to weigh in on gun control measures.

"Politicizing this terrible tragedy is beyond disgusting, and we ought to wait a respectful period of time ... before we start getting into the push and shove of politics around here," he told reporters Monday.

Cornyn says Congress should wait "respectful period of time" before they start gun debate pic.twitter.com/ZYFf41qpva — Jordain Carney (@jordainc) October 2, 2017

To the dismay of those calling for tighter gun restrictions, the House could vote as early as this week on legislation to ease restrictions on silencers. Sport hunters, with backing from lawmakers in both parties, have pushed the measure as a way to protect hunters' hearing.

House leaders haven’t said if they’ll delay consideration in the wake of the Nevada tragedy.

Previous gun control measures

Gun control advocates and Democrats had hoped that Sandy Hook would provide the momentum needed to expand background checks and ban assault weapons. But Congress rejected nearly every gun control measure proposed in the aftermath of the tragedy and since then.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has tried to re-establish a ban on certain assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz clashed with the California Democrat during 2013 hearings on the bill, famously pushing back by demonstrating how a small handle could turn a lawful weapon into contraband under her proposal.

The Senate defeated the measure 40-60, with some Democrats joining Republicans on the winning side.

Cruz touted the episode in a radio ad during his campaign for president. “After Sandy Hook, Ted Cruz stopped Obama’s push for new gun-control laws,” the ad said.

Murphy led the charge in castigating Cruz. “It's sick that he thinks he'll win votes by specifically pointing out that in the wake of 20 dead first-graders, he was the face of the fight to ensure no action was taken to stop more deranged killers,” he said in a written statement in 2015.

Sen. Ted Cruz, in a 2013 Senate hearing one month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack, fought against gun restrictions. (File Photo/The Associated Press)

Even a bipartisan push by Sens. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, failed to pass in 2013 because opponents of the bill threatened a filibuster.

'We do not have to live this way'

Since Sandy Hook, 27 states have passed 93 laws expanding gun rights. In Texas, gun owners can openly tote their handguns and carry concealed guns onto public university campuses.

But gun control advocates say they see the Las Vegas massacre as a pivot point that might put fresh pressure on federal lawmakers.

Mark Kelly called gun violence an "epidemic" and denounced the gun silencer bill in a news conference Monday. Joining him was his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 assassination attempt in Tucson.

"Imagine how much worse last night's shooting could've been if the gunman had a silencer," Kelly said. "That's just going backwards. We do not have to live this way."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday called on Speaker Paul Ryan to create a select committee on gun violence to make recommendations to prevent future mass shootings.

"Today is a day for prayer, mourning and love, but it must also be a day for action," Pelosi said. "As members of Congress, our words of comfort to the families of the victims of the Las Vegas massacre will ring hollow unless we take long-overdue action to ensure that no other family is forced to endure such an unimaginable tragedy."

The White House sought to deflate a burgeoning debate on gun policy.

"Today is a day for consoling the survivors," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a briefing. "There's a time and place for a political debate. But now is the time to unite as a country."

House and Senate Republicans largely stayed away from addressing pleas for stricter gun control measures Monday, but Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin called those reigniting the debate “political opportunists” in a tweet.

To all those political opportunists who are seizing on the tragedy in Las Vegas to call for more gun regs...You can't regulate evil... — Governor Matt Bevin (@GovMattBevin) October 2, 2017

Gun policy changes in play

The Trump administration is considering shifting oversight of gun exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department, treating guns more like commodities and less like weapons, according to CNN Money.

Meanwhile, the silencer legislation has been moving closer to a House vote.

The measure from Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., would remove gun silencers, also known as suppressors, from the National Firearms Act of 1934. Purchasers would undergo a less extensive, instant background check, ending the need to wait nine months and pay a $200 tax.

The measure has bipartisan support among Texas lawmakers, and is part of a broader bill called the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act, or SHARE Act.

Critics argue against making it harder for police to detect and respond to mass shootings. Backers — including the National Rifle Association, for which the bill is a top priority — say that muffling the sound of gunshots is only meant to protect hunters' hearing. They've dubbed it the Hearing Protection Act.

The House postponed debate on the bill when a gunman opened fire at a congressional baseball practice in June. Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., made an emotional return to the House on Thursday, four months after suffering near fatal injuries.

The NRA also supports legislation by North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson that would allow those with a concealed carry license in one state to carry into another state.

Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence — founded by the former White House press secretary who was paralyzed during an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan — called on voters to pressure lawmakers to tighten restrictions, such as making it tougher to buy firearms at gun shows.

“I’m both optimistic and realistic,” she said. “We’re not going to stop, and we’re not going to leave alone members who don’t take a stand.”

Washington correspondent Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.