Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly set in motion a pair of background-check bills for gun buyers Wednesday in response to the school massacre in Texas. But the Democrat acknowledged Congress' unyielding rejection of previous legislation to curb the national epidemic of gun violence.

Schumer implored his Republican colleagues to cast aside the powerful gun lobby and reach across the aisle for even a modest compromise bill. But no votes are being scheduled.

"Please, please, please damn it — put yourselves in the shoes of these parents just for once,” Schumer said as he opened the Senate.

He essentially threw up his hands at the idea of what might seem an inevitable outcome: “If the slaughter of schoolchildren can't convince Republicans to buck the NRA, what can we do?”

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