Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told The Hill on Monday that he still supports the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey gun reform bill he and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., first proposed back in 2013.
The centrist Democrat also emphasized specific changes he would like to see, including expanded background checks and keeping guns out of the hands of people with a history of mental illness, as he lamented the current viability of Manchin-Toomey.
''We can't even get Manchin-Toomey, which didn't violate anyone's rights. It just said there should not be a commercial transaction unless there's a background check,'' Manchin said.
''It's the most, I think it's the most agreed upon, it's the most accepted in the country, and we can't even get that done,'' he continued, reiterating that he is still ''for Manchin-Toomey.''
Manchin further said he doesn't "even know what to expect" on the future of gun reform legislation.
"Are we going to another vote for the sake of taking a vote? Let's do some mental illness reform. My goodness,'' he added.
The original legislation proposed by Manchin and Toomey sought to require background checks on all purchases from federally licensed gun dealers, expanding the national regulation to gun shows and online sales, according to PolitiFact.
Manchin's comments follow Saturday's mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where 10 people were killed and three others injured. According to police, 11 of the 13 victims were Black.
Authorities identified the shooting suspect as 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who allegedly released a 180-page manifesto two days before the shooting, which forwarded white supremacist ideas, including the ''great replacement theory.''
The theory holds that immigration will destroy white values and Western civilization, according to The Guardian.
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