Trump attacked for failing to take on America’s powerful gun lobby

DONALD Trump was criticised yesterday for failing to challenge lax gun laws following the massacre.

The US President described the atrocity as an ‘act of pure evil’ and said he prayed ‘for the day when evil is banished’. But he avoided mentioning gun laws.

Critics accused Mr Trump of turning a blind eye to the problem of guns, which cost around 33,000 American lives every year. The President defended the constitutional right to bear arms during his election campaign in 2016. He received £16million from the National Rifle Association – a powerful lobbying group – to help him get into the White House.

There were demands last night for him to speak out against the gun lobby and to tighten the rules on the ownership of weapons. Mr Trump was also criticised for his initial response to the tragedy, in which he used Twitter to offer his ‘warmest condolences’ to families.

Mark Kelly, whose wife Gabby Giffords survived being shot in the head in 2011 when she was a congresswoman, demanded leadership from Mr Trump.

‘We need a president who recognises that we have a gun violence problem and will work towards solutions,’ said the former astronaut.

‘Americans need more than our President’s prayers – we need his plans. We need a Congress that will stand up to special interests and save lives.’

Emily Tisch Sussman, of the Centre for American Progress, a research group, said: ‘America stands out as the only country that has this problem over and over again. This is the deadliest mass shooting in US history and that is the second time we’ve had to say that in less than two years. This year we’ve seen nearly 300 mass shootings. We have a huge problem with easy access to very, very dangerous weapons.’

The state of Nevada allows machine guns and automatic assault weapons to be carried openly. Paddock was able to bring them into his room in the hotel without being challenged.

Gun owners do not have to carry licences or register weapons in Nevada. Billboards in Las Vegas offer tourists the chance to fire machine guns at ranges.