WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEXSTAR) — Some gun violence prevention advocates said the White House is not listening to their concerns.
“We’ve reached out to the White House many times since President Trump was elected, but we haven’t had calls back,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady, a major anti-gun violence advocacy group.
She said at no point has the group been included in talks with the Trump administration.
“Which, as you can imagine, makes me a bit skeptical about the quality of any package we’ll see from the White House,” Brown said.
So far, the president has waffled on whether to expand background checks.
“We have tremendous support for really common sense, sensible, important background checks, I think we can get something really good done,” Trump said Aug. 9.
“For the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it,” he said on Aug. 31.
Opponents said the NRA has too much influence over Republicans and is steering the conversation away from sensible gun reform, something the NRA denies.
In a statement, the NRA said it “will work with an elected official.. to address the root causes of violence… without stripping law-abiding Americans.. of their rights.”
Some lawmakers said the White House needs more diverse perspectives.
“I think it’s important to hear all voices, especially those of constituents, those who have unfortunately been impacted by these kinds of shootings,” said Rep. Andre Carson, D-IN.
GOP leaders said they won’t vote on anything that doesn’t have the President’s approval, but it’s still unclear what exactly that approval will look like.
