US President Donald Trump said there is no broader push for a federal ban on assault weapons at the moment, but there is still “great interest” in new background-check legislation amid the recent mass shootings.

“I can tell you there is no political appetite for that at this moment,” the president said, referring to the congressional support for the potential restriction.

He nevertheless would like to see more comprehensive background checks for those seeking to purchase firearms, as well as measures to ensure that the mentally ill do not have access to such weapons. If lawmakers could develop a plan on gun legislation, the president promised to recall congress from its summer recess to consider the proposal.

There is a great appetite, and I mean a very strong appetite, for background checks.

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President Trump made the comment as he prepared to embark on visits to Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, the locations of the two most recent mass shootings, which, together, left more than two dozen dead and many more injured. Since the shootings, which took place last weekend, quite a few of the president’s Democratic Party critics have called on lawmakers for immediate action on ‘assault weapons,’ many demanding an outright ban.

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