'You will pay a price for it': NRA's top lobbyist threatens politicians who support gun control - as unlikely bid for tougher weapons legislation set for vote in Senate

The NRA's top lobbyist went on television Sunday to threaten lawmakers supporting gun-control measures that they will have to 'pay a price for it.'

'We have a God-given right to defend ourselves and firearms are an effective means of doing just that,' Chris Cox, the executive director of the gun lobby group's Institute for Legislative Action, said on ABC's 'This Week.'

'The politicians who want to divert attention away from the underlying problems that suggest that we're somehow to blame will pay a price for it,' Cox said.

The fiery comment went unchallenged by ABC News's chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, whose only response was 'We're out of time.'

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National Rifle Association executive director Chris W. Cox said lawmakers supporting gun-control measures will have to 'pay a price for it.' Pictured at the National Rifle Association convention Saturday, May 21

Donald Trump is introduced with Chris Cox, left, and Wayne LaPierre, at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Convention in Kentucky in May

The threatening rhetoric from the NRA comes as Senate Democrats push for tougher legislation on gun ownership after last weekend's mass slaughter at a gay nightclub in Orlando. 

Days after the attack, which left 49 innocent victims dead and another 53 wounded, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut held the floor along with colleagues in a nearly 15-hour filibuster 

'We can't just wait, we have to make something happen,' said Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, at an emotional news conference where Democrats joined family members of people killed in recent mass shootings. 'These are people bound by brutality, and their numbers are growing.' 

But Republicans were coolly dismissive of Democrats' demands. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, derided Murphy's filibuster as a 'campaign talk-a-thon' that did nothing but delay potential votes.

Noting that a few Democrats had skipped a classified briefing on the Florida nightclub shooting to participate in the filibuster, McConnell chided: 'It's hard to think of a clearer contrast for serious work for solutions on the one hand, and endless partisan campaigning on the other.'

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre argued Sunday that 'the politically correct White House' is pushing gun restrictions as a way of diverting attention from its failure in the 'terrorist area'

While Democrats spoke of the need for new gun legislation, Republicans cited the threat posed by the Islamic State group, to which Orlando gunman Omar Mateen swore allegiance while committing the massacre in Orlando early Sunday.

But the two sides mostly talked past each other, and efforts to forge consensus quickly sputtered out. As a result, the Senate faced the prospect of taking dueling votes beginning Monday on Democratic and GOP bills, all of which looked destined to fail. 

In Sunday's interview, Cox said that the 'catastrophic situation' facing the country has 'nothing to do with firearms.' He says it's about stopping 'radical Islamic terrorists.' 

Meanwhile, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre chimed in during an interview with CBS' 'Face the Nation' on Sunday, arguing that 'the politically correct White House' is pushing gun restrictions as a way of diverting attention from its failure in the 'terrorist area.' 

'Laws didn't stop them in Boston, laws didn't stop them in San Bernardino … and they didn't stop it in Paris,' he said. 'It's all being politicized.'

The back-and-forth came after President Barack Obama visited the victims' families in Orlando on Thursday and called on lawmakers to act.

'Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense,' Obama said.

The U.S. Supreme Court may also weigh in on the gun control issue in the coming week. The justices are due to announce as soon as Monday whether to hear a challenge by gun rights advocates to assault weapon bans in two states.

The Connecticut and New York laws prohibit semiautomatic weapons like the one used by Mateen, who committed the mass killing in Orlando with guns he bought legally.

If the justices take up the matter, they would hear arguments in their next term, which begins in October. The court has not decided a major gun case since 2010.