Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey said in a Sunday interview he is “very skeptical” about raising the minimum age for gun purchases.
Toomey’s comments come as President Donald Trump said in a Thursday tweet he would like to see the minimum gun-purchase age be raised to 21 in response to the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead.
“I’m very skeptical about that,” Toomey said to NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. “The vast majority of 18, 19, 20, 21-year-olds are law-abiding citizens who aren’t a threat to anyone. So, I’m skeptical about that. I’m willing to hear the other side on this, but I’m skeptical.”
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Toomey also mentioned his bipartisan bill with Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin to implement universal background checks on all gun sales. The Republican senator said he would be speaking with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the bill this week.
“I’ll be speaking with Sen. [Mitch] McConnell about, about that this week,” Toomey said. “Time on the Senate schedule is precious, especially with our Democratic colleagues chewing so much of it up over non-controversial nominees. But if we’ve got 60 votes, I think that would be a very compelling argument to have a vote, and I think I think we would.”
Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced plans to raise the age in his state for purchasing a firearm to 21 Friday.
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