President backs gun legislation bill co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn

President Trump today offered support of a bipartisan bill introduced in November to strengthen the background check system before someone buys a gun.

Texas Senator John Cornyn in a co-sponsor of the bill. He spoke with the president about it last week after the Florida shooting. It seems to be the only gun-related legislation currently gaining traction.
The bill is already endorsed by the NRA, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Minority leader Chuck Schumer. It would force federal and state agencies to follow a law which already exists, requiring  them to report criminal and mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

After the Sutherland Springs Church shooting, the Air Force admitted that shooter Devin Kelley's "bad conduct" discharge should have kept him from getting a gun but it was never reported to the law enforcement database. Since the school shooting in Florida last week, the FBI has admitted to not following protocol after receiving a tip about shooting suspect, Nikolas Cruz. Survivors of that shooting are now demanding action on guns, organizing a "lie in" protest Monday, representing the bodies of dead students.

Cornyn's bill seems to have the most momentum. It punishes agencies that fail to report records by denying bonus pay, while rewarding those that comply through grants. It would also authorize a study on crimes involving bump stocks, an accessory that make semi-automatic weapons fire more like automatic ones.

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who introduced the bill with Cornyn, says it's still not enough, tweeting, in part, Monday, "No one should pretend this bill alone is an adequate response to this epidemic."

This bill is still being considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House passed a version of the bill in December that would actually loosen some gun regulations by allowing certain licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines.

As for President Trump responding to what has happened in Florida, he is planning a "listening session" this week, to hear from students and teachers on guns, and he will meet with state and local officials to talk about school safety.