Sen. John Cornyn speaks to reporters while flanked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill on June 28. | Getty House GOP plans vote next week on Cornyn gun measure

House Republican leaders are planning a vote next week on an "anti-terrorism" legislative package that includes a gun-related measure based on a bill by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), party leaders announced.

The new Republican legislative initiative comes as the two Democrats who led the unprecedented "sit in" on the floor last week over stopping gun violence — Reps. John Lewis of Georgia and John Larson of Connecticut — will met with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to discuss Democratic gun proposals, according to a Democratic source. Democrats have warned they won't allow "business as usual" until they get a gun vote.


Lewis and Larson wrote to Ryan this week seeking the face-to-face session. The meeting will take place Tuesday night, after the House returns from its Fourth of July recess.

"Democrats asked Speaker Ryan to address the full Democrat caucus," said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. "He looks forward to meeting with Congressmen Lewis and Larson to discuss the important action the House will take to prevent terrorist attacks."

The GOP proposal — already rejected by the Senate — would require the Justice Department to go to court to prove "probable cause" that a person is involved in terrorism before he or she is barred from purchasing a firearm. Law enforcement agencies would have 72 hours to try and stop the gun sale. Democrats largely oppose the proposal, which has the backing of the National Rifle Association. Democrats have pushed their own proposal that would bar anyone who is on the federal "No fly" list from buying a gun, but Republicans and the NRA say that goes too far.

House Republicans and want the Homeland Security to create an office to counter "radicalization" of U.S. citizens by the Islamic State and other terror groups by developing a "counter-message" program. And the GOP would require the Homeland Security Department to provide Congress a "comprehensive" plan to "counter radical Islamist terrorism in the United States" within 90 days of enacting their legislation. In addition, lawmakers would be told how DHS and other federal agencies are going to assist state and local authorities in this effort.

The GOP package also calls for an annual review of terrorist "watch lists" kept by the FBI and other federal agencies.

"In the wake of the Orlando attack, we must step up our efforts to combat the radicalization and recruitment of citizens by ISIS," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a statement. "The bill introduced today will provide more tools and resources to combat the spread of dangerous radical Islamist ideology and help our law enforcement agencies prevent future attacks on our soil. It will also provide a process for individuals being investigated as known or suspected terrorists who attempt to buy a gun to be flagged, delayed — and if the burden of proof is satisfied — denied their purchase."

House Democrats will certainly oppose the GOP package, said a Democratic source who took part in a Democratic Caucus phone call with members on Friday. Democrats want votes on their own "no fly, no buy" gun proposal, which would block gun purchases by anyone on the federal "no fly" list. And they want a vote on expanding background checks on gun sales, which House Republicans strongly oppose.

“All across America, families are demanding real action to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and suspected terrorists, not a toothless NRA bill that will do nothing to keep our communities safe," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

"Democrats will continue to push House Republicans to give the American people a vote on meaningful gun violence prevention measures that will save lives and protect our communities from terrorism: with expanded, strengthened background checks and meaningful No Fly, No Buy legislation.”

It is unclear whether Democrats will attempt to keep the floor protests going next week. While it energized many Democrats and outside groups, some lawmakers were privately nervous about the effort, suggesting it made Democrats look out of control. They also worried it set a poor precedent for running the House floor.

Senior GOP and Democratic aides have been holding discussions on how Democrats' demand for a gun vote can be addressed. Democrats want more than a "motion to recommit," a parliamentary maneuver, on their proposals. Ryan and other top Republican leaders, though, don't want to be seen as giving into the Democratic protest, believing it will just embolden the minority party to try this tactic again.

