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GOP Sen. Pat Toomey Plans to Revive Background-Checks Bill

In the wake of the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) said on Tuesday that he plans to re-introduce his legislation that would expand background checks for gun purchases. The initial bill, which Toomey introduced in 2013 with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), did not advance. “It does feel like we have a shot at getting a little bit of momentum on background checks,” Toomey told The Washington Post. The new effort comes as the nation mourns the deaths of 17 people who were killed in a shooting last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “It’s insane that people who aren’t allowed to board a plane can buy an AR-15,” Toomey added. Earlier Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked the Department of Justice to draft a rule that would ban so-called bump-stocks, which allow automatic weapons to fire like automatic ones.