Senate aides: Odds of a bipartisan bill on background checks are improving

But in a move that could bring along other Republicans as well as Democrats from conservative states who have not yet backed Obama’s agenda, Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), a key Democratic broker, has spent the past few days crafting the framework of a possible deal with Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.).

Manchin and Toomey are developing a measure to require background checks for all gun purchases except sales between close family members and some hunters, which addresses concerns of some conservatives, according to the aides, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the talks…

Toomey is usually a reliable conservative vote for Senate Republicans, but faces reelection in a Democratic-leaning state in 2016. A new player in the months-long gun talks, he is one of several GOP senators who have said they would be receptive to supporting an expanded background check program if a bipartisan deal were to emerge. As a former House lawmaker, Toomey remains close to House Republicans who represent the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, some of whom have said they are open to striking bipartisan compromises on gun legislation in part because support for new gun laws is strong in those areas of the state.