WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Friday released the following statement on President Trump’s keynote speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Convention:

“The president should be focused on saving lives cut short by gun violence rather than kowtowing to the gun lobby. Too many elected leaders are still in the pocket of the NRA, but thankfully, that’s beginning to change, as our movement against gun violence continues to grow, and the NRA’s influence is on the wane. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should schedule a vote on background checks – passed by the House in a bipartisan vote and supported by over 97% of Americans – in the Senate immediately. We cannot continue to sit here and do nothing while too many families are burying their loved ones killed by senseless gun violence,” said Murphy.

Murphy led 40 senators in reintroducing his Background Checks Expansion Act to expand federal background checks to the sale and transfer of all firearms by private sellers, with certain reasonable exceptions. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the House version of Murphy’s background checks bill earlier this year. 

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