In January 2016 , after President Obama announced new executive actions to combat gun violence , McConnell charged Obama with playing politics and panned the administration 's record on prosecuting gun law violations as " abysmal " . McConnell stated that examinations of the mass shootings " sort of underscores the argument that if somebody there had had a weapon fewer people would have died " and predicted Obama 's proposals would fail to keep " guns out of the hands of criminals " . In June , after the Orlando nightclub shooting occurred , then the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in American history , four partisan gun measures came up for vote in the Senate and were all rejected . McConnell opined that Democrats were using the shooting as a political talking point while Republicans John Cornyn and Chuck Grassley were " pursuing real solutions that can help keep Americans safer from the threat of terrorism . " In October 2017 , following the Las Vegas shooting , McConnell told reporters that the investigation into the incident " has not even been completed , and I think it 's premature to be discussing legislative solutions if there are any . " He stated that he believed it " particularly inappropriate to politicize an event like this " and the issue of tax reform should remain the priority while the investigation was ongoing
Las Vegas shooting
2017 Las Vegas shooting
Mitch McConnell