2A/GUNS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “President Donald Trump supports efforts to strengthen the federal background-check system for firearms, his press secretary said Monday [2-20-18], adding that he had spoken with a top GOP senator about legislation to do so following last week’s deadly school shooting in Florida.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Monday that Mr. Trump spoke Friday to Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R., Texas) about legislation he and Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) have proposed to strengthen the background checks. Their bill would provide incentives for states to upload criminal-conviction records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Those records already are required to be uploaded, but can slip through the cracks…
Young people are leading the way in pushing for action after the latest shooting. And the White House statement, along with recent comments from some congressional Republicans that they could consider supporting some gun-safety measures, suggested the party is weighing options.
Such calls for action are common responses to years of mass shootings, although they have tended to fade as lawmakers, under pressure from influential gun groups, deadlock over how to proceed.”
-Julie Bykowicz and Siobhan Hughes, “Trump Backs Effort to Improve Background Checks for Guns,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 20, 2018 12:01am