King says his thinking on guns has been shaped by his experiences in New York. King: House gun bill ready Monday

Reps. Peter King and Mike Thompson are planning to introduce a House version of the compromise on background checks for gun buyers on Monday or Tuesday, King told POLITICO exclusively on Friday.

“I will be introducing, along with Mike Thompson [D-Calif.], basically the House version of the Manchin-Toomey bill on Monday or Tuesday at the latest,” the New York Republican said, referencing the bipartisan agreement on background checks reached this week between Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).


He said the legislation will “replicate” what was agreed to by those senators, a bipartisan deal that expands background checks for commercial gun purchases, including those made at gun shows.

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King, a moderate Republican who has long supported more far-reaching legislation on gun issues, said the pair felt that background checks were the “best route to go,” and credited his relationship with Toomey for some of the progress on the House version.

“I’ve known Pat from the House,” he said. “We started working with his office. We’re going to introduce the bill, it will probably be Monday or Tuesday at the latest, it would be physically not possible to get it done today, but we’re having the legislative office draft a bill to be ready on Monday. We’re also showing [it] to a number of possible other co-sponsors.”

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He said that Toomey’s conservative credentials — the senator is a former president of Club for Growth — will be one factor that could generate more support among House Republicans, even as King acknowledged that not all of his GOP colleagues will be on board.

“We’re not talking about a majority, but a significant number realize we have to do something,” he said. “Certainly having Pat Toomey involved, who was such a solid conservative, and when you see the polls saying 90 percent [of Americans are] supporting [background checks], many Republicans see that as the way to go.”

King added that “when the time comes, if it comes to a vote, there will be significant support among Republicans.”

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The Long Island Republican told POLITICO that his thinking on guns is shaped from his experiences in New York, which has tough gun laws, but often sees gun violence result from weapons brought in from other states with looser restrictions, he said.

“Virtually every time there’s a murder in New York, the gun tracked comes from another state,” King said, noting that he is the son of a cop and has worked closely with New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. He added, “Unless there’s a federal law with federal regulations…people are going to get killed in New York. It has a very direct link to New York because of the fact that so many people, including cops, have been killed with guns obtained outside the state because there are no gun show background checks.”