Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) told WJZY that he believes the man alleged to have carried out a mass shooting in a Colorado supermarket last week was inspired to violence following U.S. airstrikes in Syria, which he called a “failed policy” of the Biden administration.

“If the federal government imposes new restrictions on guns it will have to enforce them without Arizona’s help,” the Arizona Daily Star reports.

“The state Senate approved legislation Tuesday — already passed by the House — that would make it illegal for state and local governments and employees to enforce, administer or cooperate with any federal law, act, treaty, rule or regulation that is ‘inconsistent with any law of this state regarding the regulation of firearms.’”

“I own an AR-15. If there’s a natural disaster in South Carolina where the cops can’t protect my neighborhood, my house will be the last one that the gang will come to, because I can defend myself.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Fox News.

CNN: “But thanks to years of shedding its claim to bipartisanship and aligning almost entirely with the Republican Party, the country’s premier pro-gun lobby’s agenda has firmly planted its agenda within the GOP, a legacy that continues to frustrate efforts to change gun laws.”

“Both Republican and Democratic aides have told CNN the NRA has not been much of a factor on Capitol Hill in recent months.”

That said, the Washington Post reports that prospects for new gun control laws remain.

Adam Gopnik: “The truth of reform is that it can begin anywhere, on any scale, and, once begun, it tends to be self-renewing. And, as reformers well know, it does not always matter where the reform starts—if it starts at all, it magnetizes other reforms toward it.”

“The President’s proposed assault-weapons ban, for that reason, is a good place to start. It may not lasso all or even the most dangerous weapons, and it will certainly not immediately end gun massacres or the psychic costs they exact. But it is a start. The gun lobby opposes it so irrationally because it understands this, too.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) warned President Joe Biden on Twitter not “to come and take it” with a picture of a statue of himself holding a shotgun.

Associated Press: “The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack — no waiting required.”

“They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters to obtain guns because of limited firearms laws, background check lapses or law enforcement’s failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior.”

Los Angeles Times: “In a 7-4 decision, an en banc panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a county law in Hawaii that has severely limited permits for open carrying of guns.”

“The decision is likely to help push the Supreme Court to review the issue.”

Wrote Judge Jay Bybee–a George W. Bush appointee–for the majority: “The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places — including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets — the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly.”

Playbook: “A day after Biden called for an assault weapon ban in the wake of 18 people dying in a pair of back-to-back mass shootings, the political needle on guns hasn’t moved on Capitol Hill.”

“An assault weapons ban is out. Biden might be pushing for this, but no one is talking about it on the Hill right now — at least not seriously.”

“Even background checks are a long shot. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will bring the pair of House-passed universal background check bills to the Senate floor soon. But as our colleague Marianne LeVine notes in a story up today, three critical swing votes — Manchin, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) — have voiced opposition.”

“Could there be a compromise? Possible but unlikely due to political pressures on both sides.”

Washington Post: “For weeks, the White House has been privately exploring various executive orders related to firearms, such as strengthening background checks and community anti-violence funding.”

Associated Press: “Senate Democrats say they are pushing toward a vote on expanded gun control measures as the nation reels from its second mass shooting in a week. But prospects for any major reform are dim, for now, in the closely divided Congress.”

“A day after the seventh mass shooting in as many days in the United States, the Senate remains at an impasse over expanding background checks on gun sales,” CNN reports.

“Republicans in the Senate are offering an array of reasons why they won’t endorse bills to expand background checks, arguing they won’t work, they would eat away at gun rights and the focus should be on other matters addressing the root causes of crime.”

Washington Post: “The city of Boulder, Colorado barred assault weapons in 2018, as a way to prevent mass shootings like the one that killed 17 at a high school in Parkland, Florida earlier that year.”

“But 10 days after that ban was blocked in court, the city was rocked by its own tragedy: Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed at a supermarket in the city’s south end on Monday after a gunman opened fire, law enforcement officials said.”

Senate Democrats have told BuzzFeed News “they are considering curtailing their ambitions on gun reform and pushing a narrower piece of legislation that can actually pass, rather than sweeping reforms that would likely be doomed.”

“The party winning both chambers of Congress plus the White House may have raised hopes for long-sought gun control measures, such as a ban on assault rifles. But Democrats are instead starting to look at smaller measures that can win bipartisan support and break the National Rifle Association’s strong influence over Congress.”

“After President Joe Biden’s giant COVID-19 relief bill passed Congress, he made a prime-time address to the nation and presided over a Rose Garden ceremony,” the AP reports.

“But there wasn’t so much as a statement from the White House after the House passed legislation that would require background checks for gun purchases, a signature Democratic issue for decades.”

“Biden’s views on gun regulation have evolved along with his party — at one point reluctant to impose too many restrictions that blue-collar Democrats opposed — to a near-unanimous call to do something about gun violence after a spate of mass shootings.”