Trump Backs Effort to Improve Background Checks for Guns

A bipartisan bill, introduced after church shooting in November, provides incentives for states to upload conviction records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

President Donald Trump supports efforts to improve the federal background-check system for firearms, his press secretary said Monday, adding that he had spoken with a top GOP senator about legislation to do so following last week’s school shooting in Florida.

It is unclear what specific moves Mr. Trump and other elected officials might be considering.

The White House also said the president will discuss school safety with high-school students and teachers, and state and local officials in a series of meetings this week. Officials didn’t specify attendees or whether the events would involve anyone from Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were fatally shot Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

The measure would also seek to hold federal agencies accountable by making public which of them have failed to provide records, and prohibit political appointees at those agencies from receiving bonuses if they don’t upload records into the national system. The bill would also give federal grant preferences and incentives to states that send the required records into the national system.

But changes to any aspect of gun laws, including background checks, have been a difficult sell in Congress.

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