„He knows instinctively that this is the right thing to do both substantively, because it will save tens of thousands of lives.“
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged President Donald Trump on Friday to follow his gut on gun restrictions he has recently backed, after the powerful U. S. gun lobby said the Republican president and vice president do not want gun control.
The exhortation to Trump, who this week stunned fellow Republicans by backing several gun control measures his party has long opposed, reflected a fierce tug-of-war for the president’s support on gun measures in the wake of a deadly Feb. 14 high school shooting in Florida.
Trump met with leaders of the National Rifle Association gun lobby late on Thursday and said in a post on Twitter: „Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!“
Schumer issued a statement on Friday reminding the president of his initial response to the Parkland shooting in Florida that killed 17 people and the ensuing student-led groundswell of protests that demanded that lawmakers restrict gun sales and honed in on NRA-funded politicians.
SEE ALSO: Trump touts ‚great‘ meeting with the NRA after Fox News‘ Tucker Carlson sniped at him for his embrace of gun control with ‚Obama‘ remark
„President Trump should go with his instincts, not the clarion and destructive call of the NRA,“ Schumer said. „He knows instinctively that this is the right thing to do both substantively, because it will save tens of thousands of lives, and politically, because over three quarters of the American people support it.“
In a White House meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday, Trump backed several gun control measures opposed by the NRA, including broader background checks and raising the age for legally buying rifles to 21 from 18.
Late on Thursday, NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox said on Twitter that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence „don’t want gun control.“
25 PHOTOS The National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun rights supporters See Gallery The National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun rights supporters A gun rights demonstrator armed with a rifle walks past a sign memorializing the children and teachers killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, as protesters aligned with the Women’s March hold a rally against the National Rifle Association at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, U. S. July 14,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre speaks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S., April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U. S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S. April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Supporters listen to U. S. President Donald Trump deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S., April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Supporters wait for U. S. President Donald Trump to deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S., April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Supporters wait for U. S. President Donald Trump to deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S., April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Onlookers, including a man wearing a National Rifle Association (NRA) t-shirt, watch as a 95-by-50-foot American flag is unfurled on the side of an apartment complex, a replica of the „The Great Flag“ that was spun, woven, dyed, constructed and displayed on the same building by Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in 1914, in Manchester, New Hampshire, U. S., June 14,2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder NRA Executive Director Chris Cox (L) and Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (R) welcome U. S. President Donald Trump (C) onstage to deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S., April 28,2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst File Photo: NRA gun enthusiasts view Sig Sauer rifles at the National Rifle Association’s annual meetings & exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, U. S. on May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II Gun enthusiasts look over Smith & Wesson guns at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings and exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II/File Photo James Bell from Nashville, TN, look over rifle scopes from Burris Riflescope at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings and exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, U. S. May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II/File Photo Gun enthusiasts poses for a picture with an FN MK 48 machine gun and a MK 19 grenade launcher at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings & exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II Gun enthusiasts look over guns at FN America firearms at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings and exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II Gun instructor Robert Allen (L) works with Eathan Hawkins (8) at the air gun range at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meetings and exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II Indiana Governor Mike Pence addresses members of the National Rifle Association during their NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at their annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 20,2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II Attendees recite the pledge of allegiance before the National Rifle Association’s NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during their annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 20,2016. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Attendees visit the trade booths during the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Attendees visit the trade booths during the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21,2016. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Activists hold a protest and vigil against gun violence on the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia December 14,2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Brendan Walsh looks at a rifle scope in the trade booths showroom during the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee April 12,2015. REUTERS/Harrison McClary Fans wait in line to meet musician and supporter of the NRA, Ted Nugent, who was signing autographs during the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee April 12,2015.
