WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke for making it "much harder" to reach a bipartisan consensus on gun control.
Trump tweeted that O'Rourke "made it much harder to make a deal. Convinced many that Dems just want to take your guns away."
For his part, O'Rourke, former congressman representing the state of Texas, proposed mandatory gun buyback for assault weapons at the latest Democratic primary debate last Thursday in Houston, Texas. "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," the 46-year-old said.
The candidate's proposal came as his hometown of El Paso, Texas, as well as Dayton, Ohio, experienced fatal mass shootings, which intensified the debate between Congress and the White House over new legislation seeking to end gun violence.
In the wake of the twin massacres that killed 31 people, Trump suggested he will step up efforts in background checks, which, he said, has already been strong and of which the focus should be on filling the gaps. However, he recently shifted the burden to the Democrats.
"It depends on whether or not the Democrats want to take your guns away -- because there's a possibility that this is just a ploy to take your guns away -- or whether or not it's meaningful. If it's meaningful, we'll make a deal," Trump told reporters outside the White House last Thursday.
The Democrat-controlled House has proposed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which requires universal background checks for all gun purchases, and the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, the so-called "red flag" laws that allow authorities to remove guns from people deemed dangerous.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, made a joint statement Sunday saying that any legislation Trump endorses that does not include the House-passed universal background checks bill "will not get the job done."
They said "dangerous loopholes will still exist and people who shouldn't have guns will still have access."
Republicans in the Senate have said they rely on Trump making guidance for what he would do on gun legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear that he would not bring any legislation to the Senate floor if Trump is unwilling to sign it.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 89 percent of Americans support background checks for all gun purchases -- including private and gun show sales -- and 86 percent back "red flag" laws.
