CNN's Lisa Desjardins caught up with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill Monday. He declined to answer her direct question about gun laws in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shootings. 

"Is now a time to debate our gun laws in this country?" she asked. That question and several direct followups were met with 16 seconds of silence from McConnell. Audio posted on Twitter by Desjardins:

McConnell often declines to take reporters' questions in the halls of the Senate. The Minority Leader was also silent on gun control in his statement on the floor Monday about Newtown, which followed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's call that "every idea should be on the table" when it comes to new legislation following Newtown. 

This wire has been updated.