Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) suggests the odds of passing gun control when the Senate reconvenes in September are better than ever.

Toomey is specifically referencing the gun control bill he and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) first pushed after the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School attack; a bill which they have now revived as part of their push for universal background checks.

CBS News reports that Toomey has been talking with White House about he and Manchin’s bill, and Politico quotes Toomey saying the chances of passage now are “better than they have ever looked at any time.”

Toomey suggests the bill he and Manchin co-sponsor will need to undergo changes in order to draw more Republican support, but he is still optimistic about the gun control passing.

The revived push for universal background checks comes after the August 3, 2019, El Paso, Texas, shooting and the August 4, 2019, Dayton, Ohio, shooting. In both cases the guns were acquired “legally,” which means they were purchased from licensed dealers where background checks are required. Therefore, universal background checks would not have prevented either attack.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.