“I support background checks, I support universal background checks,” said Giuliani on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

He said he had no concerns the government could use information from potential firearm purchasers to keep tabs on law-abiding owners.

“I have no fear as some people do that government’s going to use that,” he said.

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His comments come as the Senate is expected to vote as early as this week on a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to expand background checks to all gun show and online sales.

Many conservatives and the nation’s gun lobby have opposed the measure arguing that it could prevent people from transferring guns to family members and over fears it could create a federal registry of all gun owners.

Manchin and Toomey, though, say their bill would prevent records on sales and check from being used to create such a database.

Giuliani, though, said such a registry would only aid efforts to prevent gun violence.

“I want a database to keep guns out of the hands of drug dealers, criminals,” he said.

The former mayor made an analogy between background checks and the tests needed to obtain a driver’s license.

“An automobile is a very dangerous instrument, automobiles probably kill more people than guns. However, we don’t stop people from having automobiles,” he said.

“Let them have automobiles, they have to get a license don’t they? They have to pass a written test, they have to pass a physical test. Same thing with guns. You want to have a gun, we should have a licensing system.”

“I want more people to have guns, but you got to have a license,” he said. “You have to show you know how to use a gun.”

The former mayor who held office during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, said his reaction to the Boston terror bombings was “total horror.”

But he said he was surprised that the U.S. had not seen more terrorism since September 2001 and praised “tremendously improved intelligence gathering” in part for preventing other attacks.

Giuliani cautioned that it would take time for investigators to fully probe the Boston attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“I think the impatience with the investigation is a little misplaced,” said Giuliani.

“They are working 24 hours a day, there’s a good chance they are going to catch these people,” he said.