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Despite frequent mass shootings, Congress has proven unable to pass substantial gun violence legislation, in large part because of resistance from Republicans. But a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is gaining momentum following weekend mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. The still-emerging plan would create a federal grant program to encourage states to adopt "red flag" laws to take guns away from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others. (Daly, 8/6)

Such “red flag” laws might not be as momentous — or controversial — as the now-expired assault weapons ban or the instant background check system, both of which were enacted in 1994 as part of President Bill Clinton’s sprawling crime bill. The House, under Democratic control, passed far more ambitious bills in February that would require background checks for all gun purchasers, including those on the internet or at gun shows, and extend waiting limits for would-be gun buyers flagged by the instant check system. But those bills have run into a blockade that Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has erected for House bills he opposes. (Stolberg, 8/6)

House Democrats are demanding Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately return to Washington so the Senate can vote on gun control legislation in the wake of two deadly mass shootings over the weekend that left at least 31 people dead. The move comes as a separate group of Democrats, led by Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas.), urged Congress to work on legislation to combat domestic terrorism — and suggested in a letter that Speaker Nancy Pelosi also cut recess short for House members. (Caygle and Ferris, 8/6)

A shaken Sen. Rob Portman on Tuesday spoke out against white nationalism and expressed support for red flag laws, after horrific mass shootings over the weekend in Texas and his home state of Ohio. The Republican's endorsement of limited gun control comes one day after President Donald Trump called for such laws, which allow police and family members to block access to firearms for people who are an imminent threat to others or themselves. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday he would introduce legislation to encourage more states to adopt red flag laws. (Levine, 8/60)

Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), whose congressional district includes Dayton, where nine people were killed in a mass shooting over the weekend, endorsed a ban on military-style weapons Tuesday, going further than many of his GOP colleagues on stricter gun laws. The mass shooting, which came some 13 hours after the deadly shooting in El Paso, was personal for Turner, not only because it occurred in his district, but also because his daughter and a family friend were at a bar across the street from where the shooting began. (Itkowitz, 8/6)

Rep. Chris Stewart says he always has been and always will be a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and a person’s “fundamental constitutional” right to legally own a firearm. But, in a video posted Monday to the Utah Republican’s Facebook page, Stewart said he felt heartbroken and angry over the evil displayed last weekend in the form of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio that left more than 30 people dead and dozens injured. (Wood, 8/6)

The real test for any significant action on gun laws is in the GOP-controlled Senate, where McConnell has acted as a one-man blockade against the House-passed background-check bill. He is, however, open to some other proposals. McConnell hasn't spoken publicly since the shootings, but he released a statement noting that he talked with three key committee chairs about pursuing items that Trump mentioned. "Only serious, bipartisan, bicameral efforts will enable us to continue this important work and produce further legislation that can pass the Senate, pass the House, and earn the president's signature," McConnell said. (Walsh, 8/7)

Not just in Washington, but back home in Kentucky, McConnell is facing the kind of pressure that were it on any other member, might shift momentum even incrementally. At a vigil outside his office Tuesday night, more than 100 protesters gathered. They chanted "do your job" and carried signs urging McConnell to "let Congress vote." "Work for all the people, not just your party," one sign said. (Fox and Killough, 8/7)

With one mass shooting after another in recent years, political leaders have debated how to take preventive action without trampling on constitutional rights. Some states have tried, and more have debated, enacting measures called red flag laws, which are intended to restrict potentially dangerous people rather than dangerous weapons. That approach is seen as more likely to attract bipartisan support than many other gun control proposals. Here is what you need to know about those laws. (Williams, 8/6)

Such measures, known as red flag laws, have been passed in more than a dozen states in recent years, often in the aftermath of a gun massacre and often with bipartisan support. But while researchers say the laws hold promise, particularly in preventing suicides, there isn’t enough research being done to understand their effect on homicides ─ let alone mass shootings. “Every time there is a question about preventing mass shootings, the answer always boils down to how to separate a potentially dangerous person from a firearm,” said Aaron Kivisto, a clinical psychologist at the University of Indianapolis who studies gun violence prevention. “Red flag laws are one important tool, but I don’t think you’ll find a single researcher who will claim that they are the panacea of gun violence. They’re not.” (Schuppe, 8/6)

Connor Betts, 24, who shot and killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, before police killed him, was a deeply troubled young man. He had a history of violence against girlfriends and fantasized about murder, keeping a “hit list” of people he wanted to target. High school classmates said that school officials were aware of his behavior years ago, and that as a freshman, he was missing from school for months after police one day took him from a school bus. (Sullivan, Strauss and Davies, 8/6)

Caitlyn Johnson dated Connor Betts for several months until she broke up with him in May because she found his interest in mass shooting and other behaviors disturbing, she said. “I started to get uneasy when he called me drunk and was talking about wanting to hurt people,” the 24-year-old college student said, adding that she urged him to get help but could only do so much. Early Sunday morning, Betts killed nine people including his own 22-year-old sister, and injured more than two dozen others in a 30-second burst of gunfire before he was killed by police. (Maher, 8/6)

More than a half-century ago, the assassinations of a president, a senator and the nation’s foremost civil rights leader led to the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, a landmark measure that restricted some gun sales. But President Lyndon B. Johnson was not happy. He had wanted to require a registry for all guns and licenses for gun owners. (Hakim and McIntire, 8/6)

Fresh calls for gun control following massacres in two U.S. cities over the weekend are testing the resilience of the National Rifle Association at a time when the nation’s largest gun lobby is riven by leadership clashes and allegations of reckless spending. The NRA, which has blocked proposed restrictions after past mass shootings, including at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., has lost key veterans in recent months, including lobbyist Christopher Cox, who back-channeled with the White House and lawmakers during previous political crises. (Reinhard, 8/6)