Gun Background-Check Bill Slows Even as Trump, NRA Say Go Ahead

(Bloomberg) -- Senate legislation that would enhance reporting to the gun-buyers background check system hit a roadblock on Monday, as Congress and the White House struggled to come up with a swift response to the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school.

At least one senator, Republican Mike Lee of Utah, acted to block expedited consideration of a bipartisan bill to close gaps in criminal records covered by federal background checks, according to people familiar with the discussions. Under the chamber's rules, any senator can object to the accelerated process.

Still, John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate's second-ranking Republican and chief sponsor of the bill to bolster the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, said he was working with colleagues to move ahead and that a vote could be held as early as this week if every senator can agree.

“I think that is in the realm of possibility,” he said. “It would take consent, and that's the challenge.”

The maneuver slowed the legislation even as President Donald Trump indicated support and the National Rifle Association, the biggest U.S. lobby for gun owners and manufacturers, said it would back the plan. The bipartisan measure, known as Fix-NICS, would penalize federal agencies that fail to report relevant criminal records that would bar someone from purchasing a firearm to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Lee, a staunch advocate of gun owners' rights, has objected that military veterans whose criminal cases were adjudicated through administrative procedures would be vulnerable to losing gun rights without sufficient safeguards.

Slower Process

But the move to poll senators on the question of unanimous consent indicates Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is willing to bring it to a vote.

The House has passed its own version but combined it with a bill expanding the right to carry concealed weapons. The concealed weapons measure is opposed by Democrats, who have enough votes to block action in the Senate. Cornyn said he's confident the legislation on background checks -- which he's co-sponsoring with Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut -- can pass the Senate by itself. That would leave it to House leaders to decide whether to hold it up or send it to Trump for his signature.

“I'm for doing what's achievable,” Cornyn told reporters. “If we want to get bogged down again and do nothing, to me that's unacceptable. So we're going to figure a way to find a path forward to do as much as possible.”

Trump called for changes after the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. He has voiced support for expanding the background check system to include more mental health information, raising the age for the purchase of some guns to 21 from 18, and regulatory action ending the sale of “bump stocks,” which allow more rapid firing.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders injected some uncertainty on the president's backing for raising age limits, saying Monday the president is “supportive of the concept” but the idea is “still being discussed” and the president's position will depend on the final form of legislation.

Mental Health Facilities

Trump, in a freewheeling discussion with governors at the White House that lasted more than an hour Monday, also said he would have run into the school unarmed to try to confront the attacker, contrasting his hypothetical response with sheriff's deputies who didn't enter the building during the rampage.

"I really believe, you don't know until you're tested, but I think I'd, I really believe I'd run in even if I didn't have a weapon,” Trump said.

The president also suggested the country should make it easier to involuntarily commit people to psychiatric institutions and open more such facilities.

“In the old days you'd put him in a mental institution, a lot of them, and you could nab somebody like this,” Trump said, referring to the accused Florida shooter, Nikolas Cruz. “Hopefully he gets help or whatever, but he's off the streets.”

--With assistance from Toluse Olorunnipa Jennifer Jacobs and Jennifer Epstein

To contact the reporters on this story: Sahil Kapur in Washington at skapur39@bloomberg.net, Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo

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