Attorney General Eric Holder told a panel of mayors Friday that the best thing Congress can do to reduce gun violence in America is to pass a law creating universal background check and do it immediately.
That squares with the wishes of gun control advocates, and is yet another indication that the top White House priority following guns will be background checks rather than a ban on so-called assault weapons. President Obama strongly supports such a ban, but even gun control advocates say it’s not at the top of their agenda.
“We can begin by calling for immediate congressional action. As the president indicated, Congress should move swiftly to adopt legislation to require universal background checks so that a full background check is conducted every time someone attempts to buy a gun,” Holder told the U.S. Conference of Mayors’s Winter Meeting Friday. “By taking this relatively simple step, we can significantly strengthen our ability to keep criminals and other dangerous individuals from getting access to deadly weapons.”
During his speech extolling the virtues of gun ownership and the Second Amendment at the same conference Thursday, Vice President Biden also spoke at length about the need for improved background checks.
Polling has shown widespread support for expanded background checks in America, even among National Rifle Association members. The NRA leadership is still generally opposed to legislation expanding background checks to private and other firearms sales.
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