House Judiciary Committee’s Gun Control Hearing Delayed Due to Hurricane Dorian

The House Judiciary Committee’s plan to return from recess a week early to hold a markup hearing for several gun control bills has been called off due to Hurricane Dorian, which is expected to prevent the attendance of several members whose districts may be impacted by the storm. 

The hearing, which will now be held at a time to be announced next week when Congress returns from vacation, concerns three bills which so far have struggled to gain the broad bipartisan support which will be necessary for any legislation to reach President Donald Trump’s desk. Here’s a look at each:

• H.R. 2708 - Disarm Hate Act: This bill would make people convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes ineligible for gun ownership. It has the support of 129 Democratic cosponsors.
• H.R. 1186 - Keep Americans Safe Act: This bill would ban high capacity ammunition magazines. It has the support of 121 Democratic cosponsors.
• H.R. 1236 - Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 (includes provisions of H.R. 3076): This bill would provide grants to states to adopt laws providing for Extreme Risk Protection Orders to prevent those deemed a risk to themselves or others from accessing firearms, and establish procedures for obtaining ERPOs in federal court. H.R. 1236 has been cosponsored by 157 Democrats and two Republicans while H.R. 3076 has the support of 73 Democratic cosponsors.

— Eric Revell

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