New York: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said today that he will be meeting with the National Rifle Association to discuss ways to block people on terrorism watch lists or no fly lists from buying guns as his party scrambles to respond in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Trump announced the meeting with a tweet, writing "I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns." He did not provide any details on the time or place of the meeting and his campaign did not immediately respond to requests for further information.
The NRA, one of the nation's most powerful lobbying groups, responded in a statement.
"The NRA's position on this issue has not changed. The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period," said Chris Cox, the executive director of group's Institute for Legislative Action, in the statement.
"Anyone on a terror watch list who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing.
"At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watchlist to be removed," Cox said.
Trump's declaration comes days after a mass shooting in Orlando in which the gunman, Omar Mateen, invested twice by the FBI, had been on the government's terrorist watch list for 10 months before being removed.
The shooting, which left 49 dead, has renewed the debate over gun control regulations, with several leading Democrats including Trump's likely general election foe, Hillary Clinton calling for people on the federal lists to be barred from purchasing firearms.
