Trump 'supportive' of improved gun background checks

Trump 'supportive' of improved gun background checks


US President Donald Trump is "supportive" of efforts to improve background checks on gun ownership, the White House says.

He spoke with Republican Senator John Cornyn about a bipartisan bill that seeks to improve the checks in place before someone can buy a gun.

It comes after authorities said the suspect in last week's Florida school shooting bought his gun legally.

Students from the school have demanded action on gun control.

"While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the president is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Monday.

What checks are currently in place?

Currently, federal licensed dealers must run checks on anyone trying to purchase a gun. A potential buyer presents identification and fills in a form with personal information and criminal history.

That information is then submitted to the FBI'S National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which processed more than 25 million applications last year.

But the system has holes because it relies on state and federal officials to report any criminal convictions and mental health issues that should legally stop someone buying a gun to NICS.

Its failings were put in the spotlight last year after the US Air Forced admitted it had failed to flag a gunmen's domestic violence conviction before he shot dead 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

What does the bipartisan bill suggest?

After that shooting, a bipartisan bill was introduced by Mr Cornyn and Democratic Senator and gun-control advocate Chris Murphy.

It requires federal agencies to better report background information thoroughly and inaccurately, and also proposed offering states financial incentives to do the same through a penalty and reward system.

At the time Mr Cornyn presented it as a fix to a "nationwide, systematic problem".

Mr Obama told the BBC in 2015 that gun control was the biggest frustration of his presidency

What does Trump think about gun control?

Mr Trump's view on gun control has changed over time, but he ran as an anti-gun control candidate in the 2016 election.

Last year the president told a National Rifle Association convention that he would "never, ever infringe" on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Mr Trump has repeatedly emphasized the role of shooter's mental health for Florida's school attack, but last year he repealed an Obama-era rule that allowed people on certain health benefits to be entered onto the database.

Florida suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, had been investigated by the authorities for posting disturbing content online, according to reports.

Survivors from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting have been vocal since last week's attack about the need for changes to existing laws around gun control.

Other students across the US have also proposed other actions such as staging national school walk-outs.

On Saturday Parkland students, their parents and some politicians took part in an emotionally-charged rally in nearby Fort Lauderdale.


Citation: BBC Staff. “Trump 'Supportive' of Improved Gun Background Checks.” BBC News, BBC, 19 Feb. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-43117780.

Response

Audience: I think that the intended audience for this article is obvious, I think it is intended for specifically Americans who care about having their gun ownership and being able to buy them. In other countries more requirements are held in place before a person is able to purchase a gun, however in America it seems to be a lot easier to purchase guns legally. 

Author Bias: The author does not seem to be a big fan of Trump, while Trump is not completely bashed in this article he is also not portrayed in the nicest way. In the title the author puts the word supportive in quotations which seems to be indicating that he does not believe that this is what Trump it really doing. At another point in the article it references how his views on gun control have seemingly changed but the author elevates the fact that at first Trump was anti-gun control and did not intend to ever change his point of view. 

Personal Bias/ Opinion: Personally I am not used to so much freedom and liberty with guns because I grew up in a context were probably only one of all the people that I knew actually owned a real gun. I think that that easy access that there is to guns in America does make it easier for a student to start a school shooting, so I do think that there should be some aspect of gun-control. I think that it could potentially help a little bit but it will not solve the problem of school shootings. 

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to inform the American audience of a debate that is going on, and while it does seem to favor one side more over the other it does leave room for debate and making own decisions. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turkey's Afrin Operation leaves Civilian Casualties

Syrian civilians 'killed in Turkey's Afrin operation' At least 51 Syrian civilians have been reported killed since the Afrin operation began on January 20  At least eight civilians have been reported killed following Turkish air strikes near the Syrian enclave of Afrin, as Turkish-backed fighters accused the armed Kurdish group YPG of forcibly recruiting minors to fight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fatalities, including five children from one family, were from the village of Kobla just outside of Afrin, which had been previously hit by Turkish bombardments. The latest civilian casualties bring to 51 the number of people killed in and around Afrin since the operation against the YPG began on January 20, the Syrian Observatory said. As of Sunday, at least five Turkish soldiers had also been reported killed in the operation, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the Turkey-Syria Border on Mond...
Read more

Relying on aid creates 'dependency syndrome'

Relying on aid creates 'dependency syndrome' While supportive of the aid response, South Sudan's government worries that it is crippling the nation. One year after South Sudan briefly declared a famine, more than half of the people in the world's youngest nation face extreme hunger amid civil war and famine that could return, a new report says. More than six million people, up by about 40 percent from a year ago, are at threat without aid, according to the report released Monday by the United Nations and South Sudan's government. It says 150,000 people in 11 counties in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity and Western Bahr el Ghazal states could slip into famine this year. "These are unprecedented levels of food insecurity," Ross Smith, senior programme officer for the UN's World Food Programme, told The Associated Press. He said a political solution in South Sudan is needed so that its people can rebuild their lives. Five years of fighting have devas...
Read more

Trump pursues Peace

Trump just did something to calm tensions with North Korea Yes, really. By Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp zack@vox.com Jan 4, 2018, 1:10pm EST Some news broke about North Korea on Thursday morning — and, for once, it’s actually kind of reassuring. The US and South Korea jus announced that they would delay annual military exercises that were scheduled to take place during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongcheong. These exercises, which involve simulating operations that would likely be used in the event of war with North Korea, generally anger the North and could have provoked it to do something dangerous in response. The decision, which was apparently during a call between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In, is surprising given Trump’s belligerent approach to North Korea. Analysts had predicted that the Olympic games in Pyeongchang, coupled with the exercises, might be an opportunity for North Korea to launch a high-profile missile test or do something else provocative. The ...
Read more