Tag: Background check

Shattering the assumption that America’s gun control debate is doomed to political deadlock, a new poll has found an overwhelming majority of South Carolinians — both Republicans and Democrats — support legislation that would require background checks for gun purchases, even if it takes longer than three days. A Winthrop University poll of 1,007 South Carolina residents found 80 percent of respondents said they would be in favor of closing the so-called “Charleston loophole” that allowed a self-avowed white supremacist to purchase the gun used in the 2015 Emanuel AME Church murders. The poll results released early Thursday found 80 percent of Republicans surveyed said they would support the expanded background check effort, compared to the 83 percent of Democrats polled. “Where the division is, is with the party elites like elected officials and campaign leaders. One of them was the Enhanced Background Checks Act, which seeks to extend the length of FBI background checks for gun purchases from three days to 10. Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, was the bill’s primary sponsor. Since the bill’s passage in the House, both Clyburn and Cunningham have publicly urged their colleagues in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate to take up the bill by holding press conferences and penning op-eds. Huffmon said there’s a real political fear, especially among Republicans, to alienate potential voters on the issue of guns. Nobody is marching with signs saying don’t close the Charleston loophole.” Each year, Kimpson said he has seen slow but steady progress on getting his bill closer to passage. In October 2015, a Winthrop poll found 80 percent of South Carolinians supported requiring a completed background check for a gun purchase.

President Trump met with the NRA after voicing concerns about gun reforms and school safety; Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee weighs in on 'Sunday Morning Futures.' FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking…

President Trump said Thursday he will push for comprehensive background checks “with an emphasis on mental health” for gun sales, saying that the age of purchasers should be raised to 21 and bump stocks should be banned. “I will be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks! Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue — I hope!” I will be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health. Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018 Lawmakers and activists are pushing for gun control after 17 people were killed at a school shooting in South Florida last week. The 19-year-old suspect in the shooting allegedly used a legally purchased AR-15 to carry out the attack, placing the rifle in the center of the debate. Trump on Tuesday directed the Justice Department to put forward regulations to ban bump stocks, a device used to increase a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire. Activists and lawmakers had pushed for a ban on bump stocks after last year’s Las Vegas shooting. The weapons used during that attack on an outdoor concert were reportedly outfitted with bump stocks, though the device was not used in last week's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

A bipartisan group of senators is trying to strengthen reporting to the national background check system in the wake of a mass shooting in Texas earlier this month. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would require states and agencies to produce plans for sending records to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) that would show if an individual is prohibited from buying a gun and verifying that the information is accurate. The measure would also try to incentivize agencies and states to provide information by blocking bonus pay for political appointees in agencies that fail to upload records to the background check system and rewarding states that follow their implementation plans. The bill comes just 11 days after a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Devin Kelley, the identified gunman, received a “bad conduct” discharge from the Air Force in 2014 after being court-martialed on a domestic violence charge. Had it been, it may have made it more difficult for him to purchase a firearm legally. The new legislation would also create a "domestic abuse and violence prevention initiative" aimed at making sure states have the ability and incentive to share information with the NICS that would show a felon or someone convicted of domestic violence cannot purchase a gun. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced legislation earlier this month to close the "domestic violence loophole" by requiring that the military report domestic violence convictions to the national background check system.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation to crack down on a background check "loophole" in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. "I will introduce a measure to close the loophole that lets a buyer walk away with a gun if the background check is not complete in 72 hrs," Blumenthal wrote in a tweet. The so-called "default to proceed" loophole allows a business to sell a gun after 72 hours if the FBI hasn't completed a background check confirming that the sale is legal before then. The practice allowed more than 2,500 prohibited purchasers to buy a gun in 2014, according to FBI data. Blumenthal's comment comes days after 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured during a shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night, marking the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The shooting has renewed Democrats' efforts to toughen gun laws and broaden background check enforcement. But any gun legislation faces an uphill battle in a GOP-controlled Congress, where lawmakers have rebuffed previous efforts to tighten regulations.