Sens. Alexander, Corker back bill to strengthen federal background checks on gun buyers

WASHINGTON – Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are among nearly three dozen co-sponsors of Senate legislation that would strengthen background checks for gun buyers, a move that seems to be gaining traction after last week’s mass shooting at a South Florida high school that killed 17 people.

“We need to make existing background checks more effective,” Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a statement Monday.

The legislation would help ensure “that federal agencies and states get information about individuals who should be prohibited from buying a gun into the national background check system,” he said.

The bill provides financial incentives to states and federal agencies to work harder to comply with laws requiring them to report criminal and mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.

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Gun sellers are required, in most circumstances, to run the names of would-be gun buyers through the NICS system to ensure they are not barred from purchasing firearms. The legislation, called the Fix NICS Act, is designed to make the system work more effectively.

"I have long supported improving how our background check system operates, while at the same time ensuring that Second Amendment rights are not infringed upon,” said Corker, R-Tenn. “The Fix NICS Act meets that test, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this piece of legislation.

“It is very important that federal agencies and state governments take the time to comply with existing federal law and submit the relevant information to NICS in order to ensure that those who have lost their right to possess a firearm are prohibited from purchasing one.”

The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, introduced the legislation last November after a mass shooting left 26 people dead at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The shooter had been allowed to buy guns despite having a criminal record because the Air Force failed to share his records with the FBI.

The Senate has yet to act on the bill, even though it is co-sponsored by 17 Republicans, 17 Democrats and Independent Angus King of Maine.

But momentum seems to be growing in light of last week’s school shooting in Florida.

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Some Republican leaders, including Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, called in separate interviews on Sunday for Congress to stop making empty promises and act.

Also, the White House signaled Monday that President Donald Trump was open to the legislation. Trump spoke with Cornyn about the bill on Friday and “is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

USA TODAY contributed to this story.