(NETWORK INDIANA) Congress reconvened this week after taking a break for the summer and lawmakers returned with a smorgasbord of issues that need to be addressed.
Guns are probably the hottest topic with many lawmakers calling for stricter gun laws to help keep guns out of the hands to those who have the potential to cause mass shootings. Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun is again urging Congress to look to Indiana as an example of “common sense” gun legislation
“Red flag laws. We’ve had them in Indiana. They work,” Braun said on MSNBC. “They actually lower the rate of suicide. I’m also for background checks where there is any looseness to where there is a commercial sale, there can’t be exemptions.”
It’s a fine line that Braun said lawmakers have to toe before it gets to the point where the government starts infringing on your right to own a gun, something he added that Congress must avoid.
He said any gun legislation, such as red flag laws, that is passed by Congress in the next few months does not have the support of President Trump. He urged the president to reconsider.
The gun debate is likely overshadowing another pressing matter in the government’s budget, which is due to run out of money soon and force the government to shutdown.
“We cannot shut the government down, Republicans always get left holding the bag on that one,” Braun said. “On the other hand we have to start reigning in these trillion dollar deficits.”
The fiscal year ends September 30th and the government will shutdown unless Congress passes a new budget by then.
Meanwhile…the Senator is supporting President Trump’s aborted peace talks with the Taliban.
Even some Republicans questioned Trump’s attempt to negotiate with the Taliban, especially at Camp David the weekend before 9/11. But Braun says the U-S has to pursue peace talks. He says with the deficit topping a trillion dollars, the U-S doesn’t have the financial ability to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, at least not without support from its allies.
Trump revealed the previously secret plans for talks in a weekend tweet, at the same time he announced he’d canceled them because of a Taliban attack on U-S troops.
Braun says the U-S should be reducing its overseas involvement more broadly, while still remaining vigilant to protect the country from attack. He suggests National Security Adviser John Bolton’s more hawkish approach is part of why Trump fired him. He says Trump is in the best position to assess whether Bolton’s outlook fits his long-term strategy.
Bolton maintains he resigned, without any push from the White House.
Braun cautions against raising hopes of an agreement too high. He says the Taliban has demonstrated its commitment to hunkering down to try to outlast U-S patience.
