Las Vegas Shooting: Pelosi calls for select committee on gun violence, stronger background checks

In the wake of a mass shooting that left 50 dead and more than 400 injured, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on Congress to expand background checks and create a select committee to investigate gun violence.

Pelosi sent the letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), citing lawmakers’ duty to “address this horrific and heartbreaking epidemic.”

“I urge you to create a Select Committee on Gun Violence to study and report back common sense legislation to help end this crisis,” the letter read. “The bipartisan committee would make recommendations to prevent unspeakable tragedies such as the mass shooting in Las Vegas and to restore confidence in the safety of our communities.”

Pelosi also called for Congress to pass the King-Thompson legislation, a bill that expands the existing framework for background checks to avoid loopholes by covering all firearm sales, including at gun shows, through ads and over the internet. The bill was introduced in 2015 by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Rep. Pete King (R-NY).

Pelosi previously called for a select committee on gun violence in the wake of the Oregon community college shooting in 2015, though one was never formed.

On Monday morning, Speaker Ryan said in a statement that “this evil tragedy horrifies us all.”

Overnight in Las Vegas, a gunman opened fire on an open-air concert from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The shooter is believed to have killed himself before police entered the room.