US Democrats to Push For Tougher Gun Control Than Backed by Trump – Pelosi

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Democrats in the US Congress hope to garner enough Republican support to pass new gun laws that are stricter than measures backed by President Donald Trump, House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pledged in a statement on Monday.

"Democrats will continue to press for bipartisan progress with comprehensive background checks, gun violence restraining orders and other commonsense measures to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in our nation," the statement read.

READ MORE: US National Rifle Association Sues to Block Florida's New Gun Control Law

Pelosi statement came in response to a gun proposal from the White House, which the lawmaker said "cravenly tiptoes around" the premier US gun rights group, the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The Trump administration on Sunday proposed providing some school personnel with firearms training and backed a bill to improve criminal background checks on gun buyers.

At the same time, the administration rejected proposals to increase the minimum age to 21 for purchasing firearms – a measure Trump said earlier he would support.

The NRA has sued the state of Florida over a law that requires gun buyers to be at least 21 years old.

The massacre of 17 students and personnel at a Florida high school has prompted a nationwide debate over US gun laws.