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Republican support gives new gun legislation momentum

The President tweeted support for legislation to strengthen background checks.

Days after a 19-year-old gunned down 17 people in a Florida high school, talk about gun control turned into action at the White House.

“I signed a memorandum directing the attorney general to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns,” said President Donald Trump.

He was referring to bump stocks, which is the accessory used in the mass shooting in Las Vegas last October.

The President also tweeted support for legislation to strengthen background checks.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn sponsored the Fix NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) Act last fall.

“I personally am unwilling to face another family member who has lost a loved one as a result of one of these mass shootings that could be prevented by making sure the background check system works as congress intended,” Cornyn said after the Florida school shooting.

The Fix NICS Act would make several changes to beef up the instant criminal background check system.

It would punish federal agencies that don’t upload relevant records to the national instant criminal background check system, and help states use the software. The bill would also ensure felons and domestic abusers can’t purchase firearms under current law.

Despite bipartisan support, political analysts have their doubts.

“I’m hesitant, because in the last decade, we’ve had literally two members of Congress who were attacked using gun violence," said Brandon Rottinghaus, Political Science Professor at the University of Houston. "In both cases, very little was done to prevent it from happening again. Even when it affects one of their own, it hasn’t happened. The firing lines are so drawn, and the political lines are so intractable, it’s hard to get congress to act.”

He says continued support from the president could push congress to take action.

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