Senate GOP says gun debate will focus on background check records

Senate Republicans in charge of the next steps on gun control said Tuesday they want to focus on bills where there’s broad agreement, such as expanding the number of records available in the background check system, while putting off thorny fights over weapons bans.

GOP leaders said getting something done soon on areas of agreement is more important than fighting over places where there’s still too much disagreement.

“What I don’t want to do is leave here this week and go back home to Texas and say we failed to do anything,” said Sen. John Cornyn, the chief sponsor of the leading bipartisan solution to expand the federal government’s records in the system. “Let’s do what we can and let’s build from there.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there’s also a sense among Republicans that schools could use a boost in their security. He said it’s chiefly an issue for the states, though Congress could play a role.

But Mr. McConnell said he didn’t want to begin another debate only to see it get bogged down in fights that doom the entire effort.

“We’ve been down this path before. There are bipartisan differences about how to address this issue that have continually snagged every effort,” he said.

His Democratic counterpart, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, said the Cornyn legislation is good as far as it goes, but said there are other fixes needed.

“If that is all Congress does, we won’t have done our job,” he said.

He said Democrats will push for “a real debate on gun safety.” That would include not just adding records to the background check system, but expanding the number of gun sales subjected to it.

“You can’t solve this problem and please the NRA. And our Republican colleagues have to learn that,” Mr. Schumer said.

The new debate was spurred by the Florida school shooting earlier this month that claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty. The gunman’s use of an AR-15-style rifle, as well as warnings ignored by the FBI and local police about the shooter and mental health problems, have all been cited.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have driven the debate, organizing a push for a ban on sales of military-style semiautomatic weapons.

Mr. Schumer and Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat, met with some of the students on Tuesday.

“The students are amazing. They’re passionate, they are brave, they’ve committed and they are organized,” Mr. Schumer said.