NRA, Texas, gun rights and gun control - What's Your Point?

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Panelists this week: Wayne Dolcefino, Carmen Roe, Charles Blain, Chris Tritico, Michelle Maples, and Antonio Diaz join Greg Groogan in a discussion about gun rights and gun control.

In mid-September the Dallas Morning News revealed how much cash the National Rifle Association and its subsidiaries have funneled into the campaign coffers of Texas politicians over the past 18 years, $710,000.00 divided between hundreds of office holders and candidates from the governor on down. 

AP FACT CHECK - GUN CONTROL

TRUMP, on gun legislation: "It's an issue that, frankly, Congress is wasting all their time on nonsense. ...The Democrats in Congress are doing nothing." - remarks to reporters Sunday.

THE FACTS: Actually, Trump is the holdup on gun control legislation.

The House passed its bill in February that would require background checks on all gun sales, including those between strangers who meet online or at gun shows. But McConnell, R-Ky., said it's not clear the Senate would be able to pass the legislation or that Trump would sign it into law. Last week, McConnell stressed that Congress would remain "in a holding pattern" on gun control as lawmakers await proposals from the White House.

Trump had previously pledged to veto the House-passed bill, but has since offered contradictory messages in reacting to recent mass shootings. Days after the El Paso shooting last month, he said he was eager to implement "very meaningful background checks" on guns and told reporters there was "tremendous support" for action. He later backed away, saying the current system of background checks was "very, very strong."

A proposal being floated last week by Attorney General William Barr on Capitol Hill would require background checks on all commercial gun sales, including at gun shows. Trump told reporters the plan was one of many ideas under consideration and he would go "very slowly."

He and White House aides have discussed a number of gun control measures with lawmakers, including steps to go after fraudulent buyers, notify state and local law enforcement when a potential buyer fails a background check, issue state-level emergency risk protection orders, boost mental health assistance and speed up executions for those convicted of mass shootings.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have told Trump that gun-control legislation must include the House-passed bill to expand background checks, saying that any other proposal could leave open dangerous loopholes.