White House threatens to veto bills enhancing background check for gun purchases

WASHINGTON - The White House said Monday two bills that enhance background check for gun purchases would be vetoed if passed by congress.

"If HR 8, or HR 1112, is presented to the president, his advisors would recommend he veto the bill," it said in a statement, referring to the bills by their house resolution numbers.

HR 8, also known as Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, would require that certain transfers, loans, gifts, and sales of firearms be processed by a federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms.

HR 1112, officially named Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019, would require a federally licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer that initiates a mandatory background check on an individual seeking to purchase a firearm to wait ten business days on results before processing the transaction, according to the statement.

Both bills run counter to the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees law-abiding citizens the individual right to keep and bear arms, the statement said.

The US House of Representatives, controlled by the Democratic Party, is expected to pass the two bills this week along party lines, but the bills would face a more uncertain fate in the Republican-held Senate.

If vetoed, both chambers would need to produce two thirds of votes to override the president's decision, an unlikely scenario unless a large number of Republican Senators defect.

The fight over gun control between the Republicans and Democrats became the center of national debate following several high-profile shootings in recent years.

In 2017, a gunman killed 58 when he fired on a concert in Las Vegas. Another man opened fire at a church in Texas, killing 26. In 2018, a former student killed 17 people at a high school in Florida.