White House Adviser Says Trump Working on Background Checks for Gun Buyers

A top White House adviser said President Trump is actively pursuing an expansion of background checks for gun buyers in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, as Democratic presidential candidates renewed calls over the weekend for bolder action to address gun violence.

“The president has been actively talking to Republicans and Democrats on the matter of background checks,” Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to Mr. Trump, said on Fox News Sunday. “We want to make sure that people who should not have firearms don’t.”

Congress has struggled for years to pass bipartisan gun control legislation, despite broad support for new restrictions on firearm sales. The matter has been thrust again into the public debate after the shootings in Texas and Ohio that killed more than 30 people in a single weekend.

Currently, federal laws only require federally licensed dealers to perform background checks, though some state laws are stricter. Lawmakers in both parties have proposed expanding the required checks to private firearm sales made at gun shows or online. The Democratic-controlled House also passed legislation increasing the amount of time authorities have to vet individuals before they can purchase a weapon.

Mr. Trump had previously expressed support for expanding background checks after the 2018 shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school, but later appeared to soften his message after a meeting with the National Rifle Association.

The NRA said it “opposes any legislation that unfairly infringes upon the rights of law-abiding citizens,” and said proposed background-check laws wouldn’t have prevented the latest mass shootings had they been in effect.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) on Sunday said he opposed recent legislation passed in the House that would have expanded background checks, arguing it goes too far.

“Wouldn’t have stopped the shootings, but actually makes it harder for law abiding citizens to do things that are currently legal and frankly currently helping improve safety,” said Mr. Scalise on CBS’s Face The Nation. Mr. Scalise himself was wounded in a 2017 shooting when a gunman opened fire on Republican congressmen gathered to play baseball.