NRA: 'Extreme gun control legislation' coming next week

The National Rifle Association, a second amendment advocacy group, announced over Twitter on Monday that the Democrats are planning on introducing "extreme gun control legislation" next week.

The NRA did not specify which legislation they were referring to, or what it entails. The tweet may be referring to an iteration of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which some Democrats have been pushing in recent days.

The bill "prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check" with some exceptions.

The act was passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 but failed to make any headway in the Republican-controlled Senate. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), however, has promised to introduce similar legislation.

Giffords, a gun safety advocacy group, has also said that such legislation could be proposed as early as next week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Democrats would do "everything we can to pass it."

Gun control has been a high-priority policy measure for Democrats, who have argued that it is necessary to reduce gun violence. Upticks in the number of school shootings in recent years have further fueled such calls for gun control.

Republicans, on the other hand, have argued that gun control violates the second amendment to the constitution. They have also argued that gun control measures are ineffective at reducing gun violence, suggesting that violent criminals will continue to purchase firearms illegally while the rights of law-abiding gun owners are further restricted.

While gun control legislation may be difficult to pass in the divided Senate, President Joe Biden has indicated that he may take executive action in order to implement gun control.

Such executive actions being considered have largely revolved around strengthening background checks, including for so-called "ghost guns," which are used to describe homemade firearms, and closing the "Charleston loophole" which allows firearms to be transferred between gun sellers without a background check.