Senators race against the clock to finish writing gun safety legislation

He said the two major sticking points in the framework the group is writing through are the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which deals with whether unmarried partners could have guns if they were found guilty of violence against a dating partner, and the distribution of funds for alternative crisis intervention programs, with Democrats wanting to use those funds to incentivize states to pass red flag laws.

Senators in the group have been working on these same details all week, after several meetings on Capitol Hill where they haven’t been able to resolve differences on the framework.

Later on Thursday, Cornyn told reporters he has been pushing for federal grants to not only incentivize states to pass red flag laws, but also to fund other forms of crisis intervention programs.

“I think we’re in a better place in terms of the grants to states that have crisis intervention programs,” he said.

He added: “Some of those are, like in 19 states, are red flag. We want to make sure that due process is protected because we’re talking about a fundamental constitutional right. But there are other states like mine, and like Arizona that have crisis intervention programs that we want to see benefit from these federal grants as well.”

Cornyn noted that closing the boyfriend loophole was one piece that delayed reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act for years, which is why it is “a hard issue” for negotiators.

Asked if they could drop that out of the final legislation, Cornyn replied, “I think that’s one option.”

Lawmakers face enormous pressure to get something done after devastating mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, but negotiators are acutely aware the effort could fall apart at any time or another issue could emerge that takes their focus away, such as major decisions coming down from the Supreme Court. Those are key reasons they are trying to finish as quickly as possible.

This story will be updated.