President Donald Trump supports efforts for a limited strengthening of the federal background-check system for firearm purchases, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday, adding that the president has spoken to a top Republican senator about a legislation to do so.
Sanders said in a statement that the conversation between Trump and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn took place on Friday when the two discussed a bill Cornyn and Senator Chris Murphy have proposed to strengthen these checks. It would offer states incentives to upload criminal-conviction records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
“While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system,” Sanders said in the statement.
Meanwhile, many young people are protesting following the recent school shooting which left 17 dead, and are calling for stronger gun controls, Associated Press writes. Congressional Republicans have also indicated they are considering supporting some gun-safety measures. However, such calls for action have so far fallen prey to influential gun groups who manage to outweigh efforts for stronger gun controls.
Both the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre of 2012 and the 2016 mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub ended in failed attempts to ban assault weapons and strengthen background checks.
President Trump, despite proclaiming support for gun safety measures, has in fact only done the opposite. Since taking office, he has signed a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people, showing strong support for gun rights.
A White House official said on Monday that at this point, Trump doesn’t support a measure that would ban whole classes of firearms, including assault-style weapons. The White House also said the president will hold meetings this week to discuss school safety with high-school students and teachers, as well as with state and local officials.
The bipartisan background check bill was introduced by Cornyn and Murphy following the Air Force’s failure to report the criminal history of the gunman who killed over twenty-five people at a Texas church. The legislation would be aimed at ensuring that federal agencies and states accurately report relevant criminal information to the FBI.
Murphy said on Twitter that the president’s support for the bill suggests “the politics of gun violence are shifting rapidly.”
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