The terrible shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton in the past week have renewed cries for Washington, D.C., to do something. In our federal system, the most effective responses will have to come from state and local governments, which have the primary responsibility and the broadest tools for reducing violent crime. But the president and Congress can act in one area, the rules for buying guns.

President Trump on Friday called for "intelligent background checks" on gun purchases in response to a string of mass shootings across the country, expressing confidence that Congress would come together on action.

“Frankly, we need intelligent background checks,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a fundraiser in the Hamptons.

"This isn't a question of NRA, Republican or Democrat," he added.

President Trump expressed great confidence Friday that he could rally recalcitrant Republicans around legislation strengthening background checks and persuade the nation’s powerful gun lobby to drop its long-standing opposition to such measures, tasks that proved elusive following other mass shootings on his watch.