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Donald Trump ‘supportive’ of improving gun background checks, White House says
Donald Trump is “supportive” of attempts to improve gun background checks, the White House has said in the first sign since the Florida school shooting that he backs changes to the system.
The US president has talked to a Republican senator who is pushing a bipartisan law aimed at making sure those carrying out the checks have all the relevant information.
A carefully worded statement from the White House said Mr Trump backed the drive in general but fell short of a full-throated endorsement for the proposals.
The legislation is limited in scope, encouraging government agencies to hand over relevant information to those doing the checks but not changing the rules on who can buy a gun.
It comes after criticism of the FBI over its handling of a warning about Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old suspected of killing 17 at a Florida high school last week.
Mr Trump reportedly sounded out members at his Mar-a-Lago club over the weekend about whether he should champion gun control measures after the attack.
It suggests the US president, who has repeatedly defended the right for Americans to own guns and rejected calls for more controls, is considering a change in stance.
In November, John Cornyn, the Republican senator, announced a bipartisan bill alongside Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator, aimed at improving the background checks system.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: “The President spoke to Senator Cornyn on Friday about the bi-partisan bill he and Sen. Murphy introduced to improve Federal Compliance with Criminal Background check legislation.
“While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the Federal background check system.”
The bill was proposed after a man killed 26 people at a Texas church last year, only for it later to emerge that he should have been banned from buying a firearm.
His history of domestic abuse was known by the US Air Force, his former employer, but had not been passed to those who carry out the gun background checks.
The FBI last week admitted it had failed to act properly over a specific warning about Cruz as a potential gun attacker. Local police had also reportedly received 20 calls about him before the attack.
The senators’ proposals, dubbed the Fix Nics Act, focuses on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System [Nics], which is maintained by the FBI.
The database is crosschecked to determine if a prospective gun buyer has a criminal record or is ineligible to purchase a weapon.
It relies on information being passed on by government agencies – something that the senators pushing the bill believe is not happening properly.
The legislation would force state and central government agencies to draft plans for how to better pass on background information to the database.
It would also provide extra money to help improve the reporting of felony and domestic abuse charges.
However the legislation does not tighten the rules on who can buy a gun – something that victims, politicians and campaigners have been calling for after the Florida shooting.
The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump had been sounding out members of his Florida golf resort about whether he should back tighter controls during a visit there this weekend.
The US president had reportedly said he was closely monitoring the media appearances of surviving students from the shooting who are calling for change.
In a separate development, a driver carrying journalists following the President was found to have a gun in one of his bags. The driver reportedly told security service officials it was there by accident.