Pelosi to Push for House Vote on Gun Background Checks

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she plans to press ahead with a gun background check bill after the Senate's defeat of similar legislation on Wednesday.

“We’re not just taking no for an answer,” the California Democrat told reporters Thursday at a Capitol Hill press conference.

Pelosi said House Democrats will work to gather support for a bipartisan bill introduced by Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of California and Republican Rep. Peter King of New York. Their bill would expand the existing background check system to cover all commercial firearm sales, including those at gun shows, over the Internet, or in classified ads.

“It is inconceivable to me that someone would believe that we can keep guys away from the criminals and mentally ill without conducting background checks,” Thompson said at the press conference.

The Senate on Wednesday defeated a similar measure introduced by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

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“This is not going to slow us down or deter our work on gun violence prevention,” Thompson added. “We’ll recalculate and get our bearings and move forward on this.”

Pelosi said she would like to see the House vote on a gun safety bill before Congress recesses in August.

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner said in a separate press conference Thursday that he continues to follow the work of the relevant House committees dealing with possible gun legislation.

“Our committees continue to take a look at this,” Boehner said. “No decisions have been made beyond that.”