Dems on Capitol Hill continue gun control push as rhetoric simmers (VIDEOS)

In addition to pending legislation, Democrats in the House and Senate are advocating further conversation on gun control to include bans, limits and mandatory secure storage laws.

“There’s so much we can do,” said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, in the party’s weekly address. “We just need the willpower and intestinal fortitude to take on the NRA and get something done for the safety of the men, women, and particularly the children in our schools of this country.”

In addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein continued to stump for a return to her legacy ban on guns she termed “weapons of war” and their magazines as well as banning bump stocks and other measures.

The Senate’s top Democrat, New York’s Charles Schumer, last week stressed a three-part plan to include expanding background checks to close what he termed as loopholes for gun shows and internet sales. The second leg of Schumer’s plan would be to implement the same sort of “red flag” extreme risk protective orders that have been adopted by a handful of states in recent years to take guns from those who police or family feel could be at risk to themselves or others. Finally, Schumer wants a formal debate on assault weapons on the Senate floor.

However, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown a reluctance to take up any gun control measures in the near future with the possible exception of the bipartisan FixNics bill of background check system incentives that he is co-sponsoring. The body is set to head into a two-week recess on March 23.

In the House, Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee on Monday called for mandatory gun lock laws and extending the period for delayed federal background checks for “dangerous weapons like the AR-15” from three to seven days as well as moving to ban such guns and limit magazine capacity. Further, she advocated upping the minimum age for firearm, ammunition and silencer sales to 21, though it should be pointed out the minimum age to buy a suppressor from a licensed dealer is 21 already.