The White House said Monday that President Donald Trump is open to bipartisan legislation to strengthen background checks for firearm purchases in the wake of the deadly Florida school shooting.

Investigators have revealed that accused gunman Nikolas Cruz had a history of behavioral problems, but was still able to get his hands on at least 10 guns, including the AR-15 rifle he allegedly used to murder 17 classmates and teachers at his former high school in Parkland, Florida.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the president had spoken to Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers. The bill would penalize federal agencies that fail to provide the necessary records and reward states that comply with federal grant preferences and other incentives.

Critics are expressing skepticism following the announcement from the White House. Joyce Gorycki, a Mineola resident whose husband was among the victims of the 1993 Long Island Rail Road mass shooting, says she doesn't buy it.

"I don't believe him," Gorycki says of the president. "He's with the NRA."

This December will mark 25 years since Gorycki's husband James was fatally shot at the Merillon Avenue train station in Garden City. She says hardly anything has changed since then, and she blames politicians who take money from the National Rifle Association.

The school-aged survivors of last week's Florida shooting are expressing the same concern.

At a weekend rally in Florida, shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez delivered a message to elected officials funded by the NRA. "We keep telling them that if they accept this blood money, they are against the children. They are against the people who are dying," she said.

President Trump says he will hold a listening session with high school students and teachers on Wednesday. But some of the of the teenagers who survived last week's attack have already said they will not attend. Instead, many of them are expected to march on Florida's state capitol that day.