White House threatens to veto background check bills

The White House on Monday issued a statement warning that President Trump would veto proposed legislation to enhance background checks for gun purchases if it passes the House and Senate.

The legislation in question, H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112, would require universal background checks and close the so-called Charleston loophole that the shooter used in the 2015 massacre at a historic black church to buy a gun. One of the measures is a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Pete King (R-N.Y.).

{mosads}Both bills are expected to pass the House along party lines with limited support from Republicans when they vote on it this week. If the bills pass in the House, they would still need to be sent to the Republican-controlled Senate for approval before reaching Trump.

The White House announced it opposed the bills for violating Second Amendment rights.

“The extensive regulation required by H.R. 8 is incompatible with the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual right to keep arms,” the statement reads. “By overly extending the minimum time that a licensed entity is required to wait for background check results, H.R. 1112 would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm.” 

“If H.R. 8, or H.R. 1112, are presented to the President, his advisors would recommend he veto the bill,” the statement concludes. 

The announcement comes about a week after the first anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which prompted Democratic lawmakers to make gun control a top priority.

At the time of the Parkland shooting, Trump had announced he would support background checks and tweeted that he would “be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks.”