WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would talk to the National Rifle Association about legislation that would prohibit people listed on the no-fly list from buying guns.
The announcement comes as lawmakers from both parties debate what legislative options exist in the wake of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting, at a gay Orlando nightclub where 49 people were killed on Sunday.
Trump’s statement, made on Twitter, is a reversal from his responses to previous mass shootings, when he said he opposed any new gun control measures as a response.
“I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have called for the passage of “no fly, no buy” legislation. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it “the least we can do.”
McCarthy said legislation aimed at rooting out potential self-radicalized lone wolf-style attackers would take top priority.
The Orlando nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, told police he was acting on behalf of the Islamic State. Mateen’s father said another motive was also possible, that Mateen was homophobic. Yet other reports indicated the shooter may have been gay himself, and had patronized Pulse nightclub previously, while also reaching out to other men on gay dating apps.
The House legislation under consideration, according to Roll Call, would enhance funding for terror centers analyzing internal terror threats and centralize the process of issuing terror threat warnings at the Department of Homeland Security.
House Rules Committee Chairman Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said the leadership was considering whether to allow a vote on the House floor on whether to close the no-fly and terror watch list gun loophole.
