House Dems to introduce bill for background checks on all gun purchases or transfers: report

House Democrats plan to push a bill to require a background check for every gun sale in America, according to a report from Mother Jones. 

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) plans to introduce a bill that will require universal background checks, according to the news outlet.

Thompson expects to have some Republican supporters of the bill but did not specify how many votes he hopes to get. 

{mosads}A previous GOP co-sponsor of gun control legislation with Thompson, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), told Mother Jones that he would back it. 

Thompson has had some bipartisan support for his bills before, but they have still failed to pass in a Republican-controlled House. 

While Democrats seized control of the House in the 2018 midterms, Republicans retained control of the Senate, which any gun control bill would have to pass. 

Thompson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for confirmation and comment. 

Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm retailers to run background checks on potential purchasers.

Private sellers, such as the vendors at gun shows, are sometimes required to perform background checks by state law. 

Other states require private dealers to only sell to people with licenses or permits, which themselves require background checks.

Some argue that universal background check legislation will close security gaps in gun purchases and help prevent mass shootings.

Others say that the background checks do not prevent shootings, pointing to the fact that several recent mass shooters, including the gunman who killed 17 people in Parkland Florida last February, passed background checks to obtain their firearms.