Bipartisan negotiations on new federal gun laws are continuing in the Senate, but several key proposals are already off the table, including a new federal ban on assault weapons, new background checks and new restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Instead, lawmakers are focusing on school safety and mental illness.

On Tuesday, Congress heard testimony from the son of 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, who was gunned down by a white supremacist last month at a Buffalo grocery store with nine other Black shoppers. Garnell Whitfield urged Congress to act.

Garnell Whitfield Jr.: “And ask yourself: Is there nothing that we can do? Is there nothing that you, personally, are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it inspires? Because if there is nothing, then, respectfully, Senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence to others that are willing to lead on this issue. … My mother’s life mattered. My mother’s life mattered. And your actions here today would tell us how much it matters to you.”