His push for enhanced gun control even drew praise from Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, in a letter that otherwise criticized Mr. Cuomo's support for abortion rights.
Although the drumbeat for enhanced gun control has grown louder and Mr. Gore supports a wider array of new measures than Mr. Bush, it is unclear who holds the political advantage.
Continue to push for gun control legislation: The tragedies in Dallas and Orlando are yet more illustrations of the need for enhanced gun control legislation like comprehensive background checks.
Many lawmakers, including some Democrats, prefer more modest measures to curb gun violence, like enhanced background checks of gun buyers or better enforcement of existing laws.
Is the enhanced convenience of gun sellers and buyers worth those deaths?
The senator citied various measures under consideration, including universal background checks for gun sales, enhanced tools to stem the straw purchasing of guns, an assault weapons ban and limits on the capacity of some ammunition magazines.
This month, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed four pieces of gun legislation: the straw purchasing measure; the assault weapons ban, which included limits on gun magazine sizes; a grant program for school security; and enhanced background checks for gun buyers.
President Obama has asked Congress to take up measures that would create a universal background check system for gun sales and enhanced tools to stem "straw purchases" of guns for criminals who cannot pass background checks.
But those measures — which include a ban on high-capacity magazines and enhanced background checks for gun buyers — will now be considered by the full Senate, where gun rights sentiments run far deeper than in the committee, to say nothing of the House, where members are even less avid to take up new gun curbs.
Mr. LaPierre said he did not support the measure that appeared to be gaining the most support among both parties — enhanced background checks for gun buyers — raising the prospect that perhaps even modest changes to gun laws would be hard to accomplish.
