Wyoming GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis 'surprised' by constituents urging action on guns


Two weeks after Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she didn't think strengthening background checks on gun purchases would "be acceptable in the state of Wyoming," she revealed that her constituents have "surprised" her.
Lummis told CNN on Tuesday that since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, her office has received an influx of calls from Wyoming residents who want something to be done to prevent future massacres. "I've been a little surprised at the phone calls we've been getting and how receptive Wyoming callers seem to be to address guns in some manner," she said.
Prior to becoming a senator, Lummis served four terms in the U.S. House, where she was a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. She has boasted of her "lifetime A-plus rating" from the National Rifle Association, and while she is "of the opinion that it's more of a mental health issue than a gun issue," she told CNN, "I'm listening to what people from Wyoming are saying."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Most of those calling "have weighed in, not with particular solutions that they support, but with a willingness to be open to suggestions," Lummis said. "They're worried in large about, as I've said, the mental health issue, and Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the nation." The state's gun culture is "strongly pro-hunting and is deeply ingrained in our social fabric," Lummis continued, but after hearing from constituents, she is considering voting for a package that would make it so juvenile criminal records are part of gun background checks.
"That's something that I'd be inclined to want to look at," she said. "So many juvenile records seem to be expunged and the clock is set back to zero the day they turn 18. So I think that is something worth considering shortly." A bipartisan group of senators is still working on gun legislation, and Lummis told CNN it is "too soon to tell" whether or not she will vote for any package that makes it to the Senate floor.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
France and Indonesia promote a contentious bid for an Israel-Palestine two-state solution
Talking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
Film reviews: Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, Lilo & Stitch, and Final Destination: Bloodlines
Feature Tom Cruise risks life and limb to entertain us, a young girl befriends a destructive alien, and death stalks a family that resets fate's toll.
-
Music reviews: Morgan Wallen and Kali Uchis
Feature "I'm the Problem" and "Sincerely"
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'