Never mind that massacres in Connecticut, Colorado, South Carolina, and now, California have forced uncomfortable questions about the widespread availability of weapons in the United States. And forget the fact that the 14 dead in San Bernardino, California, drowned out an otherwise successful week for the GOP, in which Speaker Paul Ryan laid out his vision for the future of the party, after helping guide two major bills across the finish line.

The reality is quite plain on Capitol Hill: There's still no appetite among Republicans for new gun laws.


They say there are enough laws on the books as it is. Many believe increasing background checks is akin to trampling on the Constitution and that there are better ways to combat gun violence. And few Republicans are worried about the political risk of alienating a younger generation of voters that is growing up with a backdrop of almost weekly mass shootings.

“The issue transcends political pressure,” said Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who represents the suburbs of Richmond. “At some point you have to decide as a nation what your first principles are. And the Second Amendment has been fundamental for a long time. You gotta ask yourself, is it a right or not? ... Is this an important thing to ensure?"

Brat added that acting "on the basis of the Oprah Winfrey-ification of culture, of short-term feelings, that would be a very flawed model to move forward on." He mimicked a violin when he said "feelings."

Despite passionate pleas from President Barack Obama, there's simply no sign that Capitol Hill will budge on gun control. A seemingly endless wave of violence has not scrambled the politics when it comes to more stringent gun laws.

Democrats and Republicans are still living in alternate universes, a divide driven by culture and geography. The GOP is a mostly Southern and Western party, and its House districts are overwhelmingly rural. Democrats are increasingly concentrated in big cities. The polarization, like on many other issues, has meant gridlock: Even when Democrats controlled the Senate they were unable to pass increased background checks in 2013.

Republicans have been steadily gaining seats in Congress since Obama won the presidency, giving them little motivation to change their politics. On Thursday, the Senate rejected a pair of gun measures, one from each party. A proposal from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would have barred people on the terrorism watch list from buying guns failed with just 45 votes.

Some Republicans — such as New York Rep. Pete King — have suggested strengthening the background check system for gun purchases, and they have been rebuffed.

“I think if we’re going to make more inroads in suburban districts, in the less rural districts, we have to seem more reasonable on it,” King said Thursday.

And now, the conversation for new restrictions on weapons purchasing has taken another turn. In the wake of the California massacre, some are advocating for a law that would prevent people on the no-fly list from getting a weapon. It’s unclear that even that bill will get a vote.

Of course, it’s not clear that stronger gun control laws would’ve stopped Syed Farook and his wife from murdering 14 people in a center for the developmentally disabled in San Bernardino. The guns were purchased legally, and the FBI has not ruled out terrorism.

Many Republicans, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California, say they are waiting for the investigation before prescribing a solution. But more stringent gun control is unlikely to be it.

"I don't think we have a gun problem in this country," said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. "I think we have a problem with radical Islamic terrorism. And every indication of this latest incident, it's exactly that.”

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) say there is a legislative remedy, but that it should focus on mental health. They both have said the majority of mass shooting perpetrators are mentally ill, and this week said they believe the nation’s mental health laws should be examined. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) has a bill aimed at bolstering mental health services, and Ryan and McCarthy have been supportive of it, though a vote is unlikely until sometime next year.

On the whole, though, Republicans say legislating in the wake of a tragedy would be a knee-jerk reaction.

“Do I feel pressure to take up gun control because of what happened out there? No,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a Republican who represents a conservative district in South Carolina. “Do we let TV dictate what we do? Folks back home are not calling me and demanding gun control. Because I think folks — especially folks in South Carolina — recognize it’s not a gun control issue. I don’t know what it is today, if it’s mental health, terrorism.”

Mulvaney recounted speaking with a “friend, a governor in the northeast,” several years ago who asked him, “What is it with you Southerners and your guns?”

“We have a different cultural perspective,” Mulvaney said. ”You grew up in a city, in a place where police and bad guys had guns. ... I grew up in a place where everybody has guns. And we teach our children about them. I bought my kids their first .22 at 12 years old. And you’re exposed to them at an early age. What are you taught? [That] they’re dangerous and you’ll get in a lot of trouble with mom and dad if you abuse them and they can hurt you or someone else if you use them improperly. But I have chainsaws in my garage that are really dangerous tools.”

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) a high-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said he believes there’s a problem with “violence, there’s a problem with past criminals having guns, there’s a problem with a lot of guns floating around.” But he said America has “a lot of gun control.”

And the younger generation that seems to support tightening gun laws doesn’t worry him.

“A generation that is going to kill a lot of people because they’re texting while driving may not approve of the Second Amendment, but they, like every previous generation, are bound by it until it's changed,” Issa said. “And I think that’s the important point. More people will be killed in traffic accidents this year, more people will die as a result of excess consumption of drugs and/or alcohol, so there are many things that take lives, the others aren’t protected by the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is there for a reason, just as the First Amendment is there so you can write this article.”

House Democrats, who have been deep in the minority for nearly a half-dozen years, said they believe the politics are shifting in their favor. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat who represents Baltimore, said it’s “going to be a while before Republicans wake up and address this issue.” But at some point, he said, they will turn.

Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who leads House Democrats' messaging efforts, said there are 50 competitive Republican-held districts that favor some sort of new gun laws.

“There are some messages that carry themselves, that we don’t have to carry, because they carry themselves,” Israel said in an interview. “When 90 percent of Americans disagree with the Republicans on an issue, that message carries itself. Time is our ally on this. The more time goes by, the more people will demand action from Congress on it.”

John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer contributed to this report