In his first press conference since taking office, President Joe Biden made brief mention of gun safety legislation, saying that passing new measures is “just a matter of timing,” before pivoting to talk about infrastructure.

It’s a measure of how intractable the issue is that a week after two mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia left at least 18 people dead, a Democratic White House can’t be confident gun safety reform legislation will pass in a Democratic-controlled Congress.

Earlier in the week, the president pushed for “common-sense steps that will save lives in the future,” pressuring the Senate to clear two House-passed bills that ban sales of assault weapons and close background check loopholes.

And Vice President Kamala Harris batted back Republican warnings about waning freedoms, saying "it is time for Congress to act and stop with the false choices,” and insisting, "this is not about getting rid of the Second Amendment,  it's simply about saying we need reasonable gun safety laws.”

Any gun safety legislation would require 60 votes to clear the filibuster in the Senate. That means every Democrat would have to vote yes and pick up ten Republican votes as well. One Democrat, West Virginia’s Joe Machin, has voiced his opposition to reforming the background checks laws, despite the fact that such reforms are supported by a vast majority in this country, including a majority of Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he’s opposed to Congressional legislation of gun reforms, but said he is "certainly open to the discussion.”

“Every time there’s a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). “If you want to stop these murders, go after the murderers.”

Yet as gun and gun-related violence have increased in the United States with little in the way of tightened restrictions, Sen. Cruz’s words fail to address a central failing in our system: According to the Giffords Law Center, 90% of background checks are passed almost immediately, and it can take the FBI three days to complete their own checks. In the meantime, we’re still seeing mass shootings.

While many are hopeful that pressures from Democrats and the Oval Office will yield meaningful change, history reminds us not to hold our breath. In 2019, following a litany of shootings, legislators seemed poised to increase regulations around firearms — to no avail.

“In addition to a moment of silence, I would like to ask for a moment of action,” said Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) after the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday. “A moment of real caring. A moment when we don’t allow others to do what we need to do. Prayer leaders have their important place in this, but we are Senate leaders. What are we doing?”

In the interim, state legislatures are considering their own gun safety measures.

Still, state legislation often fails to move the needle, when shooters can easily purchase weapons in neighboring states where restrictions are slimmer — which is why many Democrats are currently pushing for federal changes.