Bipartisan lawmakers launch uphill battle to expand background checks

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday designed to keep firearms from the hands of violent people — a wildly popular idea that has virtually no chance of moving in the GOP-controlled House.

Sponsored by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the bill would require background checks for essentially all gun purchases, marking a broad expansion of a screening system that currently exempts an array of private sellers.

"This bill is very straight-forward; it's not complicated.