Boehner, Cantor to meet with Newtown families
Updated 1:56 p.m. ET, Tuesday, 6/11, to reflect a schedule change for the meeting.
Washington (CNN) - The two top Republicans in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives will meet Wednesday with families who lost loved ones in the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school shooting.
According to an aide to John Boehner, the House speaker and Majority Leader Eric Cantor will sit down with the families, who will be in Washington to mark six months since the massacre that left 26 dead.
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"Speaker Boehner's heart goes out to the victims of this senseless tragedy and their families. He wants to hear their stories and talk about ways to reduce the culture of violence in our country," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.
Some Newtown families have been actively lobbying members of Congress for tougher firearm laws during this year's gun control debate. When the Senate failed to advance a set of gun proposals in April, President Barack Obama - with Newtown families standing behind - vowed the fight was not over.
Parents of seven children killed in the shooting were set to begin meeting with members of Congress on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit group formed to help spur legislation on the gun issue and is coordinating the trip.
A separate group of families, working with the Newtown Action Alliance, will come to Washington on Wednesday and meet with members of Congress for two days. A spokesman for the group said it will also coordinate Thursday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol what it calls a "Human Ribbon of Remembrance" in memory of the 26 children and adults killed.
Besides Boehner and Cantor, the groups are not revealing who else they will be meeting with.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said the fact that Boehner is meeting with the families "shows respect for them” but added, “I dont know that they will move him to action.”
"I'm very doubtful that the House leadership has any intention of bringing a bill to the floor," he said.
Before the proposals failed in the Senate, Boehner had said repeatedly that the House would wait on the Senate to take action.
Since the Senate proposals’ failure, the House has not moved on the issue. Republican Rep. Peter King of New York and Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of California had planned to propose a background check bill similar to the one considered by the Senate, but it has not gone anywhere since the Senate version was dropped two months ago.
- CNN Senior Producer Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.
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Are they going to explain to the families why they're putting the safety of children and citizens behind the interests of the NRA $?
Bit Late isn't it!
10yrs later
John Boehner, the House speaker and Majority Leader Eric Cantor are like spoiled children that are bought off at an early age .
Ban Assault weapons , 30 round clips , no hand gun should hold more then seven rounds.
As many as six people were killed and two to three others injured Friday as a gunman went on a rampage through Santa Monica, Calif.
Speaker Boehner and Rep Cantor should show some decency by not pushing NRA propoganda on the Newtown families. They should listen with compassion, empathy, and understanding.
is these guys going to newton to hand the families of victims an AR15. these guys are hilarious, when will these guys take Americans seriously. they think they can say one thing then do the opposite to please their right lunatic base every time, lesson all Americans are not gullible repubs especially folks that have lost their love ones to your gun in everyone hands policies.
6 months? Way to avoid the faces of families ripped apart. That's Boehner/Cantor. Day late, dollar short, and zero compassion.
It would be nice if the gop bafoons would work for the American people instead of the nra gun manufactures lobby . How much do they pay you to stab the voters in the back, gop morons!????????
I'm sure the Newtown folks will be eager to hear from these two about why the House has done nothing on guns. What they may not be too eager to hear is a lot of blahblah about the "culture of violence in our country". Conservative, please. Not so long ago in human history, we attended hangings in an atmosphere resembling a county fair. We watched maddened, starving dogs tear apart sick and abused bears between acts at Elizabethan playhouses. As a "culture", we've never been less bloodthirsty here in the West. I challenge google-warriors to find "mass murders" from hundreds of years ago (wars don't count). We were more murderous and bloodthirsty, but our means were not.
So why is the 21st century so lethal? The tools available. That is to say, the GUNS.
Well, shoot! WHEN are you all going to get anything done!!
Why??? These idiots do not know that Guns killed innocent children. This nation needs GUN-BAN LAWS. Period.
that should be a great comfort to them. I guess the backlash has finally got to the GOP and now they are going to make nicey nicey,
Can't wait to see Boehner cry. What a fake. Then he is going to turn around and blame Obama.
The Newtown families should show him pictures of the murdered children so that he can see what a military style rifle can do to a human being.
So what are those two gonna do there?
Hand out 10% off coupons for firearms and ammo?
The Repukes will do nothing to reduce gun related deaths in the U.S. They could care less. They're all being bought off by the NRA, so don't expect anything from them.
Now? After half a year? What hypocrites! I wonder what's in it for them.
A little late now republicans after railing with the NRA against stricter gun regulations after this horrible mass murder and they find in their cold hearts to come around to pay their belated respects ..Too late hypocrites they don't welcome politicians crying crocodile tears in Newtown!!
"He wants to. . . talk about ways to reduce the culture of violence in this country. ." What a crock! Did any Republican help President Obama when he was trying to get a law passed on background checks? The way to reduce the culture of violence in this country is to stop bowing down to the NRA and start making sure people with mental problems don't have access to guns! Standing up to the NRA would go a long way toward reducing the culture of violence in this country!
A little late isn't it guys? Where've you been? Oh, that's right, you've been trying to repeal Obamacare; hold fishing expedition hearings and doing absolutely nothing about jobs and the economy. Pathetic losers!
It is going to be a lot of lip service to these families. I don't think that Cantor or Boehner are really going to press the Republican caucus to do anything for new gun laws.
The families should respectfully decline. The GOPTP is looking for cover, IT IS ALL A SHARADE!
Good luck with that.
The NRA owns the Republican party.
Oh wow, now they want to see the famili es to say what? Oh the nra and the knocks bros give then the go say some thing after they help to kill the bill
Eric an john meeting with the people in new town what a day, why did they wait so long to visit the people in new town.
Why? The two right wing morons have little if anything in common with the people of Newtown. The only interest they have is protecting the rights of gun makers, and lobbyist that work on behalf of the gun makers. If two people know where the money's at, these two know.