research about<\/a> the expansion of SROs has found that, in some areas, the program has largely just brought more low-income and minority youth into the criminal justice system.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) brought up when asked about the Senate legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we start opening up conversations that start creeping into criminal justice policy, or, you know, also intersect between both juveniles and people with mental health issues\u2026 that\u2019s when we start opening cans of worms where there could be a lot of unintended consequences for vulnerable communities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an issue of all or nothing,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez said of her reservations about the compromise. \u201cIt’s an issue of do no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n
If and when the legislation is finished, how much it satisfies such Democrats\u2019 wishes to \u201cdo no harm\u201d likely will determine how many votes it gets in the House. The majority of House Democrats would, in all likelihood, gladly vote for some version of what the Senate is discussing, even if the school safety language alienates some.<\/p>\n
But the current angst over the contours of a Senate deal does mean that House Democrats could face a tougher-than-expected vote with virtually no wiggle room.<\/p>\n
At the very least, a moment that Democratic leaders might want to mark as a major achievement on an urgent issue could instead be endured as a hold-your-nose moment by many members.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you start to see a package with language written that could be categorized as bad policy from a progressive perspective rather than incremental policy, that changes things,\u201d a senior progressive staffer told The Daily Beast. \u201cYou get to a place where it might be a harder vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
After meeting with members of House Democratic leadership on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who is spearheading the Senate talks, said his sense was that \u201cthere was a broad enthusiasm in the House for the framework.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his serious frustration with the legislation, Auchincloss still said he was \u201cconfident that my constituents don\u2019t want me to vote against a gun violence bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other Democrats, however, were not prepared to make a similar commitment. \u201cWe just have to wait and see, but you know, it\u2019s a tough pill to swallow an insufficiently strong package,\u201d Raskin said. \u201cBut it might be indigestible to take something that actually sets us back.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the potential compromise contains more of the gun violence prevention measures Democrats are most excited about, the proverbial pill of concessions to the GOP could be easier to swallow.<\/p>\n
Senators in both parties, for instance, seem to be in agreement on a provision to provide funding for states to implement so-called \u201cred flag\u201d laws, which are used to temporarily block access to firearms by people considered a danger to themselves or others.<\/p>\n
Another area of alignment is on language to toughen background checks for prospective buyers of firearms who are between 18 and 21 years old\u2014an idea that has taken on added urgency given that the shooters in Uvalde and Buffalo were both 18 years old.<\/p>\n
But with talks at a critical phase this week, some important elements of the proposal are on the chopping block.<\/p>\n
Democrats believe they now finally have an opportunity to close the so-called \u201cboyfriend loophole,\u201d which allows men convicted of assaulting their girlfriends to purchase firearms, even though married men with similar convictions would be barred from doing the same. That provision was at risk of being dropped entirely, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the lead GOP negotiator, said this week.<\/p>\n
On both sides of the Capitol, Democrats have watched those developments warily. \u201cSupport for this bill on the Democratic side is largely made up of people who believe that something is better than nothing,\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told HuffPost. \u201cBut the Republicans keep whittling down on something.\u201d<\/p>\n
But key Democrats in the House expressed confidence in Murphy\u2019s ability to steer Senate talks in the best possible direction. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the sponsor of the House\u2019s assault weapons ban legislation, believes the Senate group has already come far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Murphy has done really heroic work to bring together the support of 10 Republicans,\u201d Cicilline said. \u201cI always want to look at the language, but\u2026 this will make meaningful progress and will help save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the argument Murphy has been making to the public in a week packed with negotiations. \u201cOf course, this isn\u2019t everything that I want, but it\u2019s life-saving, meaningful progress,\u201d he told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cUltimately, I think if we get this framework into text, which we will, the Senate and the House I hope will come to the same conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
This window for long-awaited action to counter gun violence has provided for an unusual flurry of cross-Capitol communication in hopes of influencing the final product. Several House Democrats told The Daily Beast they were passing along ideas and feedback to Senate offices engaged in negotiations.<\/p>\n
Ocasio-Cortez and a fellow New York progressive, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, both said they were specifically trying to influence the language on school safety.<\/p>\n
Bowman, who was a middle school principal in The Bronx before coming to Congress last year, told The Daily Beast he is \u201cconcerned and worried about more cops in schools, because more cops in schools usually means more black and brown people in jail and in jail prematurely.\u201d<\/p>\n
But notably, Bowman is not as opposed as other Democrats to the idea of including some \u201chardening\u201d of schools in the package, and conceded it could be \u201ca small part of the solution.\u201d He said his experience with repeated active shooter drills and other features of modern school safety protocol as a principal have given him a unique perspective, which he is passing along to Murphy\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Ocasio-Cortez, who said she is also passing along feedback through House liaisons to the Senate, also struck an optimistic note\u2014a sign that right now, even the biggest skeptics of the Senate\u2019s emerging plan are far from ready to give up on the effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this text gets it wrong, that\u2019s going to have really strong implications, but the text can also get it right,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that we are in conversation early enough that we\u2019re able to help people get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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