Trump flags gun reform

FACED with an outpouring of grief and anger over a deadly school shooting in Florida, US President Donald Trump yesterday threw his support behind moves to ban “bump stocks” – an accessory that can turn a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic one.

Mr Trump (above) also said school safety was a “top priority” for his administration and he would hold meetings on the subject this week and next, when he meets governors from all 50 US states.

Calls to ban bump stocks have been mounting since Stephen Paddock, a retired accountant, used them on several weapons to kill 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas in October.

Although the former student who killed 17 people in Florida last week did not have a bump stock on his rifle, there has been a renewed focus on the devices because outlawing them is a rare point of agreement between Democrats, some Republicans and the National Rifle Association.

Mr Trump – who received strong backing from the NRA in his White House run – said he had signed a memorandum “directing the Attorney-General to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machineguns”.