Trump pushes bump stock ban
President tells attorney general to propose rules against device used by Las Vegas shooter that turns semi-automatic weapons into machine guns
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that he has signed a memorandum directing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to propose regulations to ban “bump stocks” and other devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into “machine guns.”
The device was used by the shooter who opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas in October, killing dozens and immediately prompting calls for lawmakers or the administration to ban such devices through legislation or regulations. At the time, the White House and the National Rifle Association made clear that they were open to the idea, but no action was taken. It was not until a mass shooting at a high school
in Florida last week again brought attention to guncontrol issues that Trump was pushed to act.
“I expect that these critical regulations will be finalized ... very soon,” the president said during a medal ceremony at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
“The key in all of these efforts ... is that we cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make a difference. We must move past cliches and tired debates and focus on evidence-based solutions and security measures that actually work.”
In the wake of the Parkland, Florida, massacre, the level of furious activism on the ground has represented a startling shift from previous community responses to mass shootings. Students who survived the Parkland shooting have organized groups calling for increased gun control, and some have pledged not to return to class until changes are made. Bipartisan action has been elusive in the wake of previous mass shootings, including some of the deadliest rampages in modern U.S. history.
More than 6 in 10 Americans fault Congress and Trump for not doing enough to prevent mass shootings, according to a new Washington
Post-ABC News poll, with most Americans continuing to say these attacks are more reflective of problems identifying and addressing mental health issues than inadequate gun laws.
In the poll conducted after a gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school last week, more than threequarters, 77 percent, said they think more effective mental health screening and treatment could have prevented the shooting.
The Post-ABC poll also finds that 58 percent of adults say stricter guncontrol laws could have prevented the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but there is no
rise in support for banning assault weapons compared with two years ago and the partisan divide on this policy is as stark as ever. On the issue of whether allowing teachers to carry guns could have deterred the rampage, a proposal that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said is an option for schools, 42 percent said they agreed.
On Tuesday, Trump referred to the shooting last week as an “evil massacre” and said his administration is “working very hard to make sense of these events.”
“We must do more to protect our children,” he said. “We have to do more to protect our children.”
The debate over what
Congress and the president should do in response to mass shootings is once again confronting Washington after Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly killed 17 people at his former high school Feb. 14, with authorities charging that he aimed his AR-15 assault-style rifle and fired round after round into classroom after classroom in one of the nation’s worst school shootings.
The use of high-powered semi-automatic rifles in recent mass shootings, including by Cruz, police say, and in last year’s killing of 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas, has sparked calls to reinstate the 10-year ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004.
But Americans are roughly split on this proposal, with 50 percent in support and 46 percent opposed, a stark contrast from the 80 percent support for the ban in 1994, the year it was enacted. The current level of support is little different from 51 percent in 2016.
While more than 7 in 10 Republicans and independents supported banning assault weapons in 1999, the new Post-ABC poll finds 45 percent of independents supporting it now, dropping to 29 percent among Republicans. A 71 percent majority of Democrats supports such a ban.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the president is open to discussing the idea of increasing the age at which someone can legally purchase a semi-automatic firearm.
Trump plans to meet today with students, teachers and parents from Parkland, local school districts and those affected by past school shootings in Columbine, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. He also will meet with law enforcement officials and local leaders. Trump said the point of these meetings is to “develop concrete steps that we can take to secure our schools, safeguard our students and protect our communities.”