As Congressional Democrats try to impose stricter gun laws, the White House has announced that President Trump would be advised to veto any gun control bills that come across his desk.
The White House on Monday issued a statement of administration policy and took aim at House bills H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112 – both of which seek to impose stricter background checks for gun purchases – and declared that neither one would receive the President’s signature because the bills violate the Second Amendment.
“The extensive regulation required by H.R. 8 is incompatible with the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual right to keep arms,” the White House said. “By overly extending the minimum time that a licensed entity is required to wait for background check results, H.R. 1112 would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm.”
White House plans to veto gun purchase background check bills if passed https://t.co/jUSWkJwGPp pic.twitter.com/ai2aFEGkPD
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H.R. 8 seeks to impose background checks on nearly all private gun transfers. The bill would force everyday gun owners to pursue a third party retailer or other licensed entity to oversee government procedures that would be mandated for the transfer of their private guns.
“H.R. 8 would require that certain transfers, loans, gifts, and sales of firearms be processed by a federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms. H.R. 8 would therefore impose permanent record-keeping requirements and limitless fees on these everyday transactions,” the White House noted.
The bill does not currently provide exemptions that would authorize temporary transfers of guns, such as leaving a gun in someone else’s care during travels.
H.R. 1112 authorizes delays in background checks of up to 20 business days.
An initial 10-day waiting period would be required before processing the sale of a gun. If the background check is not completed during that time period, the buyer must file a petition with the federal government and wait an extra 10 days before the transaction may go through.
The latter bill presents a major problem, however.
The 20 business days mandated by H.R. 1112 may cause the background check to exceed 30 calendar days from the date of initiation, thus becoming invalid by current law.
“Allowing the Federal Government to restrict firearms purchases through bureaucratic delay would undermine the Second Amendment’s guarantee that law-abiding citizens have an individual right to keep and bear arms,” the White House said.
“If H.R. 8, or H.R. 1112, are presented to the President, his advisors would recommend he veto the bill,” the statement said in closing.
House Democrats recently rejected an amendment to H.R. 8 introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube that would require notification to specific law enforcement agencies when an individual fails a background check, and would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be notified upon the failed background check of an illegal immigrant.
