NRA Support

In February, the House of Representatives passed two bills to require background checks on all private gun sales and increase the amount of time required to process a background check — neither of which Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

LaPierre's claim that Trump supporters aren't in favor of background checks is not, however, backed up by recent polling data, which shows overwhelming support for universal background checks across the political spectrum.

According to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released on August 7, 90% of Republicans and Trump 2016 voters and 89% of those who currently hold a favorable view of Trump support mandatory background checks on all gun sales.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia are similarly teaming up on a Senate bill to expand background checks to virtually all private sales, and both told the Post they had spoken to Trump in recent days making the case for the bill — which the NRA does not support.

Manchin said that any legislation expanding background checks would need Trump's support to have a fighting chance on Capitol Hill, telling the Post that he expressed to Trump that "if you don't stand up and say, 'This is a piece of legislation I support,' we're not going to get enough cover to have Republicans stand tall. They won't be able to do it."

The Post also reported that Trump is questioning whether the NRA — which has had a huge influence over Republican lawmakers for decades but is currently weathering a number of financial and legal scandals — still holds the same level of sway within the GOP.

After the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, the Trump administration similarly defied the NRA by banning bump stocks — devices that allow shooters to fire multiple rounds more quickly.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's allies on the hill, told the Post he's optimistic that Trump "seems determined to do something and believes there is space to get something done this time around," adding, "he's never been a sports or gun enthusiast. But he is more determined than ever to do something on his watch."

The Staff: We support background checks but would need to read carefully ANY bill that is passed before we would fully support. Based on history, we don't trust the people in DC to be honest as to what is inside any bill as they are known to be LIARS. The tend to sneak crap in bills.