House Democrats are planning to vote next year on bills that address gun violence as a public health concern, The Hill reports. The move will mark the party’s first steps back into a divisive debate after being in the minority for eight years. Energized by their midterm victories and a focus on gunshot victims highlighted by a growing chorus of medical professionals, Democrats will push for legislation to fund research on gun injuries and deaths. Making gun violence a public health issue is seen as unlikely to cause divisions between liberal and centrist Democrats, some of whom are wary about moving too far to the left ahead of their 2020 reelection bids. Democratic leaders will have to tamp down expectations for achieving their gun-related legislative goals because their bills will be landing in a GOP-led Senate.
Most legislation around gun violence was off the table for eight years of Republican rule in the House, as GOP leaders sided with the powerful gun lobby against any new firearm restrictions, including federal funding for research. Now, Democrats are united around making gun violence about public health, with some looking toward background checks as well. “We have an opportunity to pass background checks for every firearm purchase,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who is considering a 2020 presidential bid. “We have an opportunity to finally study gun violence in America to see what we can do.” As mass shootings have become more common, public opinion has evolved. Many newly elected Democrats from conservative districts embraced new restrictions on gun purchases while on the campaign trail without facing the previously feared backlash on Election Day. Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) backs universal background checks, and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, co-sponsored universal background check legislation this year.