LIANE HANSEN, Host:
NPR's David Welna reports.
DAVID WELNA: California Democrat Jane Harman used her time at the podium, though, to suggest Congress actually do something.
JANE HARMAN: We should revisit sensible federal laws to control access to guns and ammunition. At a minimum, I believe we must promptly restore the expired federal ban on extended magazine clips.
WELNA: The lawmaker who's leading the efforts to reinstate the ban on large-capacity magazines is New York Democrat Carolyn McCarthy. Seventeen years ago, it was another gunman using such magazines who killed McCarthy's husband and seriously wounded her son on the Long Island Railroad.
CAROLYN MCCARTHY: What I'm trying to do is not take away the right of someone to own a gun, but just basically look at the large-capacity clips. And people have to remember that the gun that they use can still have a clip in it - 10 bullets and one in the chamber, that's 11 bullets. So if you're using it for self-defense at home, there's plenty of ammo there for them.
WELNA: McCarthy plans to reintroduce a bill this week that outlaws large-volume bullet magazines. For Texas Republican Kevin Brady, it's a lost cause.
KEVIN BRADY: I'm not supportive of it and I don't think it will gain much traction in the House.
WELNA: Like Brady, Indiana Republican Mike Pence says what happened in Tucson should not be blamed on a public policy that needs fixing.
MIKE PENCE: I think what we had here was a despicable human being who engaged in a barbarous act against defenseless civilians and a deeply respected colleague. And I think we should focus on holding that individual to account.
WELNA: New Jersey Democrat Rush Holt, who's co-sponsoring McCarthy's bill, says to say Congress has no responsibility to act is naive.
RUSH HOLT: Yes, there are crazy people out there - all the more reason why we should have gun safety legislation.
WELNA: But it's not just Republicans putting the brakes on reinstating the high-capacity magazine ban. Texas Democrat Silvestre Reyes says, as a former Border Patrol chief, he can see a point in such a ban.
SILVESTRE REYES: But I really don't think right now is the right time. We need to make sure that the political climate is settled, a little more settled than right after an attack on a member of Congress. You know, I just don't think it's going to go anywhere.
WELNA: Congresswoman McCarthy says there's a reason why so many of her fellow Democrats balk at tightening gun laws.
MCCARTHY: It's called the NRA. They have a lot of power down here. And a lot of members here are petrified of them, that they will basically go against them in an election and make that member lose.
WELNA: David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.