US Senate Debate Proposals to Curb Gun Violence

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A flurry of proposals to curb gun violence emerged Thursday in the U.S. Senate, one day after President Donald Trump voiced support for multiple firearms restrictions, including some that many Republican lawmakers and gun rights advocates strongly oppose.

"There is widespread agreement that we must act now to prevent another tragedy like Parkland from happening anywhere else, ever again," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, referring to last month's shooting in his state in which 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Rubio introduced a proposal to strengthen the background check system for gun purchases, provide federal funding for school crisis intervention teams and empower law enforcement to obtain court orders to seize firearms from those deemed to be a public safety risk.

Rubio's proposal was far less sweeping than the measures Trump appeared to endorse Wednesday in a televised White House meeting with lawmakers of both political parties, which included universal background checks for buying firearms and raising the minimum age for purchases of assault-style rifles from 18 to 21.

Trump also urged lawmakers not to fear a politically powerful lobbying group, the National Rifle Association (NRA), earning praise from Democrats.