But is the NRA working with Manchin?
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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday that he was working on a bill with Senate colleagues and the National Rifle Association (NRA) that would implement universal background checks, a major component of President Obama's proposed gun-control reforms.
Manchin, a member of the NRA, had not previously endorsed any specific measures to address gun violence.
"Im working on a bill right now with other senators Democrats and Republicans were trying to get it, and looking at a background check that basically says that if youre going to be a gun owner, you should be able to pass a background check, to be able to get [universal background checks]," Manchin told Metro News radio's "Talkline," in an interview reported by The Washington Post.
Later Thursday, a spokesman for the NRA said that while the group was working with members of Congress to "address the problems with the background check system," the group would not support expanding background checks to include private transfers.
"If Sen. Manchin supports putting private transfers between law-abiding citizens under the thumb of the Obama-Holder justice department, we will vigorously oppose those efforts," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.
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