WASHINGTON – In his quest to tackle gun violence, President Donald Trump has ricocheted between calling for tougher laws and declaring his fealty to the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, leaving a trail of befuddled lawmakers and advocates in his wake.
One thing he still has not done: clearly outline his legislative priorities.
Washington's week closed Friday without further explanation from the president, the White House indicating that for now, at least, he is backing an incremental proposal on background checks and a bill that would provide new federal dollars to stem school violence.
Just what Trump would like to see in the “beautiful” and “comprehensive” bill he called for earlier in the week remained unclear.
That comment came at a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers Wednesday, which was quickly followed by a private session with the National Rifle Association on Thursday. “Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!” Trump tweeted Thursday night.
He had outlined some of his preferences via Twitter earlier Thursday, saying that both good and bad ideas had come out of the bipartisan meeting. He said: “Background Checks a big part of conversation. Gun free zones are proven targets of killers. After many years, a Bill should emerge. Respect 2nd Amendment!”
Disagreement continues among legislators over the appropriate response after the Florida school shooting that left 17 dead. Amid the confusion, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shelved the gun debate for now.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who is a leading advocate of tougher gun laws, predicted on Twitter: “The White House is going to bob and weave on guns. Accept it.”
Still, he added: “Trump's instinct on this issue is not wrong – if his party doesn't get behind background checks soon, they're cooked in 2018 and 2020.” And he argued that Trump's “willingness to buck the gun lobby in public, rule out the NRA agenda and talk up background checks, has changed this debate nationally.”
Setting it straight
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday that Trump supports a limited proposal that would boost participation in the existing federal background check program, as well as a bill that would provide new federal grant funding to stem school violence.
Sanders said Trump had not signed on to a more sweeping background check bill that would require the review of firearm purchases online and at gun shows.
And she sought to clarify Trump's comments earlier in the week, saying that while Trump “conceptually” supports higher age requirements to purchase certain weapons, “he also knows there's not a lot of broad support for that.”
The president also wants to use an executive order to bar the use of bump-stock devices that enable guns to fire like automatic weapons.
Key meetings
After Republican anxiety about Trump's comments seeming to express openness to tougher gun controls, NRA executive director Chris Cox was positive about their
