In response to the mass shootings that took place over the weekend, the Department of Justice has begun studying the impact of legislation that would make such attacks a capital crime.
Attorney General William Barr discussed the proposal as one of a number of potential responses to the two attacks that together claimed 31 lives over the weekend, CNN reported Monday.
Currently, federal law holds that the death penalty can be applied in cases where an attacker uses a weapon of mass destruction, such as an explosive, but has no similar provision for mass-casualty attacks perpetrated with a firearm. When mass-shootings occur, federal prosecutors resort to other laws, such as those criminalizing hate crimes, to secure the maximum possible sentence.
In order to draft legislation, Congress would have to define what qualifies as a “mass-shooting.” The FBI defines such shootings as those with four or more victims, while previous federal legislation defined them as those in which three or more people are shot.
At least 22 people were killed in El Paso, Texas on Saturday after a lone gunman opened fire in a Walmart. The perpetrator, who is currently in federal custody, drafted an anti-immigrant manifesto that detailed his motivations for the attack. He may face hate-crime charges in addition to capital-murder charges.
Another nine people were killed hours after the El Paso attack in the downtown district of Dayton, Ohio, after a young man opened fire on night-time revelers with a semi-automatic rifle. The shooter was killed on the scene after exchanging fire with police officers.
President Trump addressed the nation Monday morning, issuing a call for national unity and lamenting the “culture” of violence propagated by movies and video games. He did not mention gun-control legislation.
In a statement issued Monday, Democratic leaders urged Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to call lawmakers back from their August recess to advance background-check legislation that was passed by the Democrat-controlled House earlier this year.