Democrats have made it clear to the US President that universal background checks should be made mandatory for any gun sales, under whichever gun control legislation that wins the motion.

After the sad and reckless mass shooting incident in August that killed more than 30 people, Trump has been moving towards potential legislation and has been speaking to the lawmakers in both parties about the same.

Progress was being made on gun legislation, according to Trump, adding that many areas were under discussion, including background checks.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi have said in a joint statement how they have put emphasis on making background checks before the gun sale a mandatory requirement. Over a phone conversation with Trump, they have reportedly said,“…we made it clear to the President that any proposal he endorses that does not include the House-passed universal background checks legislation will not get the job done, as dangerous loopholes will still exist and people who shouldn’t have guns will still have access.”

After Trump’s succession to the White House, gun control has not been that much tighter. Having kept quiet for a long time, in January 2013, Obama finally proposed a long list of measures, including bans on assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets and a limit on the size of magazines but he could not garner support and the issue died down till the recent shootout incident has brought the whole issue into focus again.

Incidents that have brought the issue to light include the December 2012 killings of 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and many more. As many as 335 people have lost their lives in different parts of America since January 2019 in mass shootouts. The total number wounded cross a 1200 mark. Mostly passing off the bill has been met with severe resistance and fierce lobbying by the National Rifle Association (NFA) and other gun groups. Political opinion is that Trump will not move towards ‘stricter background check’ as he mentioned over his phone conversation with Wayne LaPierre, Chief Executive, National Rifle Association in August, who flatly refused to adhere to Trump’s request. Trump, thus continues to hold the stand that it is more important to tackle mental health issues related to the violence or expanded background checks.