Gun legislation among Biden’s priorities, officials say

Gun Rights

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will continue to “push for” gun control reforms in the wake of recent mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday as she outlined Biden’s next legislative priorities.

Psaki, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said Biden will unveil the first part of a two-pronged infrastructure package on Wednesday and will continue to press the U.S. Senate to act on federal voting rights legislation as Georgia and other Republican-led states move to pass voting laws that restrict absentee voting and polling hours.

Asked about Biden’s remarks at a news conference last week that passing new gun control legislation was a “matter of timing,” Psaki said the legislation is “something the Senate should be able to move forward on, and the president will continue to push for. He knows that as president, you’ve got to walk and chew gum, you’ve got to do multiple things at the same time and he’s ready to do that.”

Psaki’s comments came as the Senate Democrat taking the lead on gun control issues, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), a moderate Senate Republican who has worked with Democrats on gun control proposals in the past, both signaled the possibility of reaching bipartisan compromise on increased background checks for gun purchases.

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“I think right now our best chance to get something passed is universal background checks,” said Murphy during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Murphy said he has “gotten a lot of calls from Republicans in the Senate who don’t want to fight this fight any longer because the [National Rifle Association’s] authority is fading, the anti-gun violence movement’s impact is increasing. I think we have a chance.”

Toomey, also appearing on “Meet the Press” has said he believes there are at least 10 Republicans willing to join Democrats to vote for expanded background checks. Currently legislation needs 60 votes to pass in the 50-50 split Senate.

“What we need to do is try to find a place where we can land, a place where there’s some common ground,” Toomey said. ” I have long believed … the place where we ought to be able to get that done is requiring background checks on commercial sales.”

The U.S. House, currently under a Democratic majority, passed its version of gun reform legislation that would require background checks for all gun buyers, including transactions between relatives and friends. Toomey indicated the House version is unlikely to pass, but said Senate Republicans would consider legislation that limits the background checks to commercial sales.

In the wake of the shootings in Colorado and Atlanta, Biden last week called on Congress to act “immediately” to pass new control laws.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking to reporters on Sunday, said he will bring the House version of the legislation to the Senate floor soon.

Schumer (D-N.Y.) also said he has sent a letter to the Biden administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, asking them to require background checks for weapons parts used to assemble “ghost guns,” firearms constructed from parts.

“These are as easy as Legos to buy and even easier to assemble,” Schumer said.

Schumer said there is a loophole in the law that allows people to buy kits or parts they can turn into unregistered firearms without a background check.

“Close the ghost gun loophole and save lives,” Schumer said.

State Attorney General Letitia James has shut down some businesses that sell ghost gun parts or kits, but Schumer said she has told him that she needs federal help to keep them from coming to New York through the mail.

Schumer noted that three people were arrested in Nassau last summer in connection to ghost guns. Nassau police “recovered 22 ghost guns, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition, narcotics and bomb-making equipment,” he said.

Schumer said requiring the background checks would only require executive action from Biden and not legislative action from Congress. He also said he is pushing for gun parts made from 3D printers to also be subject to background checks.

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