The White House's indication of support for a bipartisan bill that would bolster reporting of violent criminals to the FBI's background-check database in an attempt to stop them from buying firearms appears to have President Donald Trump on a collision course with House conservatives, Politico reported on Wednesday.
That is because House conservatives are unwilling to sign on to even a narrow background-checks bill unless it is coupled with so-called "concealed-carry" legislation backed by the NRA, which would have the net effect of loosening gun controls and thus lose Democratic support.
If Trump tries to decouple the bill, which House GOP leaders had reportedly promised conservatives would not happen, it would almost assuredly antagonize his pro-gun base and GOP allies in the House, and Speaker Paul Ryan might not even let it come up for a vote.
Democrats are opposed to concealed-carry legislation, because it would allow gun owners with such permits in their home states to bring their weapons across state lines.
Sources told Politico that Senate passage soon of only the background-checks bill, which would add penalties for federal agencies that fail to follow the reporting rules and encourage more states to comply, is a real possibility.
These chances have been bolstered by outrage at yet another mass school shooting and support from such conservative newspaper as The Wall Street Journal, where an editorial said the House should allow the concealed-carry provision to die.
The House Freedom Caucus has already sounded that alarm against this happening, as its founder, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, said a vote on the background-check bill alone "would allow bureaucrats and administrators to take away an individual's Second Amendment liberties, and something that fundamental you've got to have a court make that decision to give due process to American citizens."
Even if the background-checks bill alone passes, Democrats have already indicated it would barely begin to address the nation's epidemic of gun violence, Politico reported.
But if Trump agreed to more serious gun control measures, as the White House says he is considering, he apparently would be met by fierce Republican resistance. This means there exists the possibility of the same type of stalemate that has hampered other such efforts following previous school massacres.
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