“The President expressed interest in getting a result, so conversations will continue to see if there’s a way to create a reasonable background check proposal, along with other ideas,” a White House official said.
US President Donald Trump (Photo: IANS)
US President Donald Trump met a Democratic senator on Thursday at the White House to discuss a policy response to the mass shooting that killed dozen of people over the past several weeks.
The 30-minute private meeting which included several White House staffers touched on a range of possible gun-related policy issues including background checks, Efe news reported.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who met Trump and Republican Senator Pat Toomey have long urged legislation expanding background checks for gun sales. Their bill failed to pass the Senate in 2013.
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“The President expressed interest in getting a result, so conversations will continue to see if there’s a way to create a reasonable background check proposal, along with other ideas,” a White House official said.
The President and his aides have discussed measures to improve background checks, empower law-enforcement officials to remove guns temporarily from people deemed dangerous, boost mental-health services and subject mass shooters to the death penalty, among other things.
Earlier this week, during the radio show, McConnell said that he expected to hear from the Trump administration next week about what sort of gun legislation it was prepared to support if any.
“If the president took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor,” McConnell said.
Democrats have mounted a campaign to pressure McConnell to schedule a vote.
On Thursday, Walmart halted sales of ammunition for handguns and some military-style rifles, the company announced on Tuesday, calling the status quo on firearms in the United States “unacceptable.”
Walmart further said that it will direct consumers not to carry firearms into its stores, a practice that is legal in “open carry” states but which has sparked safety scares in recent weeks.
(With IANS inputs)
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