Please, don’t insult our intelligence.
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on Wednesday called for an expansion of required background checks for those who want to buy guns by arguing that the proposal does not actually constitute “gun control.”
“I don’t consider criminal background checks to be gun control,” Toomey said during a press conference at the Capitol. “I think it’s commonsense. If you pass a criminal background check, you get to buy a gun. No problem. It’s the people who fail a criminal or mental health background that we don’t want to have a gun.”
Toomey joined Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Wednesday in offering compromise legislation as Congress takes up gun bills. It requires background checks for all commercial transactions, including for those who buy firearms at gun shows and online.