Newspapers this morning with reports that both sides are likely to agree to criminal background checks, but an assault weapons ban might be harder to pass through congress. President obama said the vast majority of americans agree with the proposal. Your thoughts . For democrats, 2025853880. For republicans, 2025853881. For independents, 2025853882. Also, on social media, twitter. Com cspanwj. Or post your comment question on facebook. And you can email us as well, journal cspan. Org. President obama was in minneapolis yesterday talking about gun control. Here is what he had to say on background checks. [video clip] the vast majority of americans, including gun owners, support background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun. [applause] so, right now democrats and republicans in the senate are working on a bill that would ban anyone from selling a gun legally for him selling a gun to anyone legally prohibited from owning one. That is common sense. There is no reason we cannot get that done. That is not a liberal or conservative idea, it is a smart idea. We want to keep the guns out of the hands of folks who should not have them. Senators from both parties have come together to propose a bill that would crack down on people who buy guns only to turn around and sell them to criminals. A bill that would keep more guns off the street and out of the hands of people with the intent of doing harm. [applause] by the way, in addition to reducing violence on the streets, it would make life easier and safer for the people standing behind me today. Host here is the baltimore sun, and how they framed the issue. Inside the story theyre right they write host what are your thoughts on this, this morning . We are turning to you outside of washington to get your take on background checks and whether or not the vast majority support the idea. What do you think about the fact that the assault weapons ban is looking less likely to get through congress . People say that it is too hard to get through this congress. James, republican caller, you are up first. Go ahead. Caller hi, how are you . Host good morning. What do you think . Caller i am telling the screener that i do not understand the question. I bought a gun for the first time last year, in 2012. In 9 millimeter. The gun that i wanted was sold out, but women are buying them up. I had a background check. I went in, made a phone and they made a phone call. They look at you funny, i had to go away with my tail between my legs because i must be a bad criminal. Of course, what happened was i was flagged for a couple of things i did 25 years ago. I had a dui and a misdemeanor harassment charge onequarter of one century ago. I do not understand how these people are apparently getting through to try to get guns when a guy like me who is a law abiding citizen my whole life its flag for something 25 years ago. But, i waited 15 days, i got a phone call, go into the process again. I am a lawabiding guy. I may have raised a little hell, but i never killed nobody. Host james, what the think about this idea . Do you agree, even though it was a hassle for you, do you agree with the idea of background checks . Host caller everyone does. I do not understand the point. Host part of this is getting the reaction to president obama saying this and seeing if the American People outside of washington agree with that. Also, the reports this morning are that the president of emphasis on this part of his proposal is seen as diminishing support for an assault weapons ban. What do you think about that part . Caller we have to stop looking at the gun and start looking at the problem. In pennsylvania, when i was growing up, we had more access to guns than we have now. Every the boy had a gun. We went to school with them, we walked down the street with them. There was something missing. These zero little boys doing this. This is a problem that is much deeper. There is something going on with these young boys that no one wants to address because you are talking about lack of fathers with black kids, lack of a fear of authority, fear of god, morality, at a kit. All the things that are passed down by a strong grandfather and a strong father. Little boys used to be allowed to channel their aggression. Now you have these psychotropic drugs. I think it is the feminization of the curriculum. I think that these little boys have to be able to get out there and channel their aggression normally. Host what if the only thing that passes out of this congress is something with background checks on gun control. Is that adequate to address everything you are saying . Caller well, it will not do anything. The laws are already there. I had background check and i am a lawabiding citizen. Host we are talking about universal for every kind of gun purchase. Caller i was just buying a handgun and had to go through the same thing. Even at gun shows in pennsylvania, there is a guy with a computer there. I do not get this. Host blare, independent caller, georgia. What do you think . If the president is right and background checks are the only thing that get through the congress, is that adequate . Caller it will be the jim crow lot of guns. I do not have an id to vote, i do not have an id to have a background check. They want to take our guns away and get them occupiers down here to rape our women and take our towns, defecate host all right. Karen, you are on the air. Good morning. Caller hello, yes . Mike wallace, the former journalist he passed away but could not have gotten a gun because he was diagnosed with manic depression. He was robbed in a parking lot at the grocery store, assault that the grocery store. He could not have a gun to defend themselves because he says he was diagnosed with manic depression on television. Also, actress patty duke said that she had the same diagnosis. Does that not mean that they would not pass the Mental Health background check . Host all right. A little bit more on this from the baltimore sun. Host that is the baltimore sun, this morning, reporting on the president s visit to minneapolis yesterday. Stressing background checks as the most tenable part of the gun planned, with the president saying that only the assault weapons ban deserves a vote in congress. Your thoughts . Clinton, maryland. Hello, can. Caller hello, ken. Caller i support background checks. I am a member of the nra. I own guns. I have had friends ask me if i would sell them a gun. Knowing that that is against the law. Knowing that that has happened over and over again. You have no way of knowing what purpose that person is using a gun for. I do not know their mental capacity. I just believe that universal background checks will keep the guns out of the hands of people that mean ill will or have mental deficiencies. Host all right, richard, washington, d. C. , independent caller. Caller i am for the registration of guns, but as far as background checks i mean, all of these shooters were supposedly lawabiding people. [indiscernible] they have the right to protect their family. Who is showing the guns, who is sitting on the guns . Look at what is going on in chicago. They are locking these people up. That is something you can do. Who has the right to tell someone else that they have the right to own a gun . That is insane to me. Host you do not agree with universal background checks . Caller all done should be registered. You should know that, if it is transferred to someone else. But on the paper i said you could defer. You charge them again. Host the washington post, reporting that today two democrats and two republicans plan to introduce a bill that would impose new penalties against gun straw purchasers. The four members host we will be covering that press event here on cspan, look for the coverage on cspan 3 today at 2 00 p. M. Of those members announcing their proposal on the house side. As we told you, the senate is drafting legislation as well, a Bipartisan Group of legislators working on that. The daily news, reports this, the popularity of background checks explains why Charles Schumer thinks that he can win the support of tom coburn of oklahoma for a bill. Host that is a little bit about what is going on in the house and senate on this. Yesterday the president did not emphasize the assault weapons ban. We are getting your take on that. Richard, here in washington, d. C. Lets move on to mike, also here in washington, d. C. Democratic caller, go ahead. Caller am i on . Host you are on, good morning. Caller good morning. This is the first an important step in a complex problem, because something can be done about it right away. They are definitely part of the problem. It sounds like some of the callers, talking about family values, this is true, but how do you legislate family values to a free country . I think that the amendments to the gun control laws are very important first steps and we have to continue the dialogue and look at the problem on a deeper level to see if there is anything we can do in society regarding the mental and family issues going on. Host you think the first steps are what . Caller amending the gun control laws so that it becomes more difficult to attain these guns. Plenty of legal gun owners are doing these obtain these guns. Plenty of legal doughnut legal gun owners are doing the right thing. The gun control laws, whenever they may be, they need to be stricter and more and forced at the local level. These are just as important as the Mental Health issues. Host duane, republican caller. Caller i was curious about them showing a picture i. D. From a drivers license or some other approved government card, making it more likely to establish the identity of the purchaser. I am definitely against the straw buyers. That should be eliminated right now. There should be universal appeal for that. Maybe a lot that you can only buy one gun at a time per year . The logic is that you can only fire one gun at a time. I live on the outskirts of cleveland and cleveland has a terrible crime rate. Not as bad as chicago or los angeles, but still there is a lot of black on black crime with these young kids who have these small guns and their goods. They wear hoodies. Late at night they kill innocent people waiting for a bus. Host how do you know that . Caller code the tv news reports and everything. Caller the tv news reports and everything. Unless there is a news blackout in washington, d. C. , you must be aware of it. Crime is terrible. Assault weapons, the reason that people want to buy those is they want to be prepared for a total breakdown of civilization. Only the people with the weapons are going to be able to survive. Host all right, that is doing, ohio. This headline this morning who owns guns in congress . Here is one of the reporters the work on this, Political Editor for the newspaper, paul singer. Why did you do this survey . What did you find . Caller, we thought that it was worthwhile to find out if members of congress are gun owners. They will be voting on gun control policy and we wanted to ask if they were actually gun owners, more or less in the same proportion as the americans there represent. What happened was the proportions were almost exactly the same. 2 of household reported had guns. The distinction in congress is that it is a very regional difference. Many more republicans have guns than democrats, and by and large southerners. Host what does that mean for gun policy . Caller it is hard to know. It is very, very clear that there is a correlation between gun ownership and positions that saver or are supported by the nra. Several people that we spoke to said that what we are seeing is a kind of cultural area for guns where if you grew up in a Southern Community and income conservative community, probably in a rural area, you are very familiar with guns and are not in favor of gun control. If you grew up in a city, an urban environment with more guns and crime, youre probably less in favor of guns and more in favor of gun control. If that holds true, there is not going to be a huge majority in congress for guncontrol. Seems like it will be pretty split. Host including democrats . Caller including democrats, although a smaller number. Some of the ones who were gun owners said that boehner is in favor of gun control. He said he was a gun owner, but that he believed that some gun controls, particularly background checks, are important. There were 120 republicans that own guns, only 46 democrats told us that they own guns. 76 of congress answered our questions. Host why did people not answer your question . Caller they gave a variety of reasons. We had about 60 people total applying by saying that they would not talk about it. Several said that it was safety reasons, that they did not think it was appropriate to talk about their security. Several of them said that they did not want to tell burglars that they had guns, because burglars might try to come steal their guns, which was an odd answer. Several told us that it was none of our business. Our view is that as members of congress that have higher exposure than regular people. And then there were a bunch of people who did not return repeated phone calls, emails, requests for answers. Host what about the leadership in the house and the senate . Caller harry reid of nevada is a gun owner, democratic leader. Mitch mcconnell of kentucky, as i recall. We did not get an answer at all from john boehner, the house speaker. Nancy pelosi does not own a gun. Host what about the chairman of the house judiciary and Senate Judiciary committees . The legislation is going to go to them. Host that is caller that is one of the most interesting ones. Senator leahy is a gun owner, but he is also a very strong advocate for gun control. He will be delivering one of the key points in the debate. Their committees are likely to be the first out the door with legislation. There will be interesting things coming from some unlikely he, coming from vermont, who lives in a state where gun ownership is not all that unusual. It will be interesting to see if he can thread the needle between a healthy respect for guns and a healthy concern for guns and gun safety. I think that he will be a very interesting player to watch. Host let me conclude by asking how you interpreted the president s remarks yesterday in minneapolis. What does that mean for passage . Caller i think it is clear that they do not have the votes for assault weapons ban. There is a lot of stuff that they can probably get done, like a background check, but i do not think that they will try to push an assault weapons ban just to lose on the issue. And they will raise it as something that they would like to do, but i do not see it passing. Host thank you for your time. And we turn to all of you outside washington to get your take on this. You heard it from paul singer, that they do not have the votes for banning assault weapons, but perhaps universal background checks may make it through both chambers of the house and the senate, with the president saying that the vast majority of americans support that as well. We will keep taking your phone calls on this topic, but i wanted to get to some other news. This story is from the new york singer, that they dotimes, this Morning Headlines u. S. Memo on killing citizens in al qaeda. Host the story is in the new york times. Nbc news, reporting on that as well. Front page of the wall street journal, the u. S. Is going to suit standard and poors on ratings. Host that is the front page of the wall street journal, and many of the newspapers this morning. On the senate side, the boston globe, the gop is finding few takers for the john kerry see. The party is not deterred seat. The party is not deterred. Oncehis one, senators secret daughter dies at 87. Host that is the front page this morning of the state newspaper. We will go to sarah in clark summit, independent caller. We are talking about president obama saying that universal background checks have the support of the majority. What do you think about this . What else do you think should be done . Caller first i have a question. I am a gun owner. Hopefully i will never have to use it for anything that anyone else would have to use it for, but i do like the protection on our small farm. And we do shoot. We have taught our grandkids, we have nine. We are safe owners. We have a safe that the guns are in that is always locked. My question to anyone who can answer is about free speech and the universal background check the we have to submit to when we buy a gun. I have never bought a gun, and i have purchased several, without what i would consider a without what i would consider an extensive background check. Host what was that like . Caller they wanted to know about any felonies. Gosh, it has been over one year. I was at his gun show in pennsylvania for well over two hours. I had to take a seat and wait. Of course, i hopefully knew that it would pass, and it did. My husband, also. Host what do you think about this story from the washington post, this morning. Both sides of gun control are turning to women on this issue of gun control. Congress has raised the president s agenda to toughen Gun Legislation and powerful lobbies on both sides are turning to women. Using advertisements and oped articles. What do you think about that . Caller, turning to win . For this issue caller code turning to women . For this issue, i know caller turning to women . For this issue, i know women who would not leave the house without a gun. Then i have met women who found out that i have a carry licence jumped away from my pocketbook by 5 feet. I had to laugh, she was actually sitting next to me for about four hours. There was an interesting gentleman at my table and he asked me questions about my new purchase. He was very informed and she said oh no, you have a gun . She jumped up. I said no, i do not have a gun. I said that i carry but i do not have it now. I would have to say that it is probably about and it has to do with where they lived in the United States. 50, myably about 505 relatives in the inner city did not agree with it. Host you think that women are about 50 50 on that . Caller i think so. Host front page of politico, this morning, eric cantor, seeking to reran gop. We will be covering that event today. Jim, loraine, ohio, hello. Caller how are you this morning, greta . Host good, how are you . Caller code doing fine. I am very interested in this subject. As an experiment i went to a gun show and spoke to a lot of gun owners and ask them a lot of questions. One of the first things i asked them is why they are opposed to these Different Things they are proposing. One of the common themes that came out was that gun owners fear that this is just that if they ban assault weapons, highcapacity magazines, that eventually there will let there will be another tragedy and then the antigunners are going to demand that these people give up their weapons. They will say look, there was an assault weapons ban and a ban on highcapacity magazines and we have to take them away from lawabiding citizens. That is what they are afraid of. I think that if these people would come out an