The Senate’s top Democrat has called for Donald Trump to follow his gut on gun control measures he has already backed, after the National Rifle Association (NRA) suggested the President does not actually want gun control.
Democratic members of Congress and the powerful gun-rights organisation are competing for the President’s support on controversial gun issues that have once again sprung to the surface in the wake of a mass shooting in Florida.
“President Trump should go with his instincts, not the clarion and destructive call of the NRA,” Mr Schumer said in a statement. “He knows instinctively that this is the right thing to do both substantively, because it will save tens of thousands of lives, and politically, because over three quarters of the American people support it.”
Incidents of gun violence continue to occur as the US government scrambles to find a solution to the issue.
On Friday morning, at least two people were shot dead in what authorities said was a domestic issue at Central Michigan University. The two victims, who were not students, were found inside the residence hall at the university, located about 200 km northwest of Detroit.
University Police Lieutenant Larry Klaus identified the suspect as 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr. No one was injured by the gunfire, the university said.
Mr Trump had stunned members of Congress during a meeting this week by supporting measures opposed by the NRA. But comments from a top lobbyist for the organisation on Thursday suggested that the President’s embrace of such gun control measures may be short-lived.
The lobbyist, Chris Cox, posted on Twitter that he met with Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, saying that “we all want safe schools, mental health reform and to keep guns away from dangerous people. POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA.”
Mr Trump tweeted roughly an hour later about the unannounced meeting: “Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!” the President said.
The NRA, which spent at least $30m to help elect Mr Trump, has called the bulk of the proposals discussed at the White House with members of Congress this week “bad policy” that would not keep people safe.
In that meeting, Mr Trump called for a “comprehensive” bill, among other things, expand background checks to firearms purchased at gun shows and on the internet. The proposal is supported by Democrats but has been rejected by the NRA.
He also suggested that he would support measures to allow the authorities, without first following due process, to seize guns from mentally ill people or those who could pose a threat.
“I like taking the guns early,” he said. “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”
Additionally, the President appeared ready to go up against the NRA over his support for a proposal to raise the minimum age for purchasing assault-style weapons from 18 to 21.
“[The NRA] has great power,” Mr Trump said. “They have great power over you people. They have less power over me. I don’t need it. What do I need? But I’ll tell you, they are well-meaning ... We have to do what is right.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Friday that she believed Trump had arranged the NRA meeting on Thursday, Reuters reported. She said Trump's thinking on guns had not changed since his meeting with members of Congress on school safety.
Asked if Trump had made any specific promises, Ms Sanders said “only that he'll continue to support the Second Amendment.”
She added that the President wanted to strengthen background checks, but did not commit to universal background checks. She also said that while Mr Trump “conceptually” supports raising the minimum age to purchase certain weapons, but that “he also knows there's not a lot of broad support for that.”
The shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that left 17 people dead on Valentine’s Day has led to mass protests across the country. Student survivors have demanded that lawmakers restrict gun sales and honed in on NRA-funded politicians.
But despite the mass mobilisation of students, parents and companies against guns, Congress is still struggling to garner enough support to pass even the narrowest of gun control bills that would fix the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Drafting a comprehensive bill, like what Mr Trump has called for, is likely to hamper any ability to get enough votes to actually pass the measure in both the Senate and House of Represenatives.
