Republican senators in the US Congress have signalled they are hesitant to embrace a call from President Donald Trump for sweeping changes to gun laws, including measures more typically backed by Democrats.
Trump shocked fellow Republicans on Wednesday when he threw his support behind a broad set of restrictions on gun sales in response to the February 14 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.
But he left the issue in the lap of Congress, and did not say how hard he would twist arms in his party to advance measures that many Americans passionately view as infringing on their constitutional right to own guns.
Complicating matters, after meeting with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence late on Thursday, the National Rifle Association's chief lobbyist Chris Cox said on Twitter that Trump and Pence "don't want gun control."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said banking legislation - not guns - would be at the top of the agenda next week, and said the process for gun-related bills was still under discussion.
McConnell said he hoped to eventually see debate on a narrowly tailored bill from John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, that would strengthen a database of people who are not legally allowed to buy guns.
"We'd love to do that at some point. I'm hoping there's a way forward," McConnell said.
Senate Democrats say they want to debate mandates on background checks at gun shows and internet sales, among other measures, but say Trump will need to push his colleagues.
The White House had been expected to release a list of policy measures that Trump backs, but spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Thursday described the process as an "ongoing discussion."
Trump has said he is disturbed by the level of violence he has seen in video games and movies accessible to children like his son Barron, age 12.
Republican Senator John Kennedy told reporters he was skeptical that any gun control legislation will advance soon.
"So far, there's been a lot of chopping but I don't see any chips flying. And I'm not sure that's going to change," Kennedy said.
Trump on Wednesday seemed to back several measures that are opposed by the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby that backed his 2016 candidacy, including raising the legal gun buying age to 21 from 18.
NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch told Fox News the group believes the focus should be on making schools more secure, rather than restricting constitutional rights to own guns.
Senator Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he backed restraining orders for guns owned by people deemed to be dangerous, as well as funding to train schools to identify warning signs for violence but said changing age limits was unlikely to pass Congress.
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