Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) unveiled a deal on expanding background checks to nearly every gun purchase in a press conference Wednesday morning.
Manchin called the agreement a "first step" to passing broader legislation to cut down on gun violence.
"The events of Newtown changed us all," Manchin said, referencing the Dec. 14 mass shooting that left 20 children and six adults in a Connecticut elementary school dead. "Nobody here ? with a good conscience could sit by and not try to prevent a day like that from happening again."
Currently, only people who buy guns through federally licensed dealers have to undergo a criminal background check. The new bill would expand checks to nearly every gun transaction except for those between relatives. The background checks bar people who have committed felonies or have been declared mentally ill by a judge from purchasing a firearm.
Toomey said he did not think expanding background checks to cover current loopholes amounts to "gun control." "It's just common sense," he said. Both Toomey and Manchin are gun owners, and Toomey has an A rating from the National Rifle Association. Toomey said he added some provisions to strengthen gun rights in the bill, including allowing a legal gun owner to take his or her concealed weapon over state lines, even if that state does not allow concealed carry.
The full bill also provides more money for school safety and strengthens laws against illegal firearm sales. Proposals to ban certain semi automatic weapons and limit magazine sizes--pushed by President Barack Obama and other Democrats--have been dropped from the main bill, but could be added later in an amendment process.
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