President Donald Trump said he is working with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to enhance background checks for gun purchases, denying reports that he had abandoned the idea after meeting with the National Rifle Association.
“We’re working on background checks. There are things we can do,” Trump said Wednesday as he left the White House for an event in Louisville, Kentucky.
The president said he had a “great” talk with NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre on Tuesday, and denied reports that he had pledged not to pursue more stringent background checks.
The debate over gun control has heated up again this month after a pair of shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed more than 30 people.
Trump has chalked up the mass shootings last weekend in part to mental illness, while also saying he believes video games are a factor, despite the same games being available in other advanced nations that experience much lower rates of gun fatalities.
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