last week’s mass shooting in a Florida school and a students’ campaign in its wake for stiffer gun control norms has prompted President Donald Trump to make an active push for a ban on “bump stocks” firing devices that can convert semi-automatic guns into automatic weapons that can fire at a rapid clip.
On the eve of hosting a “listening session” with students, parents and teachers, Trump ordered the Department of Justice to expeditiously “propose for notice and comment a rule banning all devices that turn legal weapons into machineguns”.
“Bump stocks” were used in the las Vegas massacre last October that enabled the gunman holed up in a hotel suite to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in US history by firing more than 1,100 rounds that killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others.
Trump has also called for beefing up the present system of background checks of people buying firearms across America, tweeting: “Whether we are Republican or Democrat, we must now focus on strengthening Background Checks!”
“The president has expressed his support for efforts to improve the federal background system and in the coming days we will continue to explore ways to ensure the safety and security of our schools,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.
A day earlier, several hundred students rallied in front of the White House to demand stricter gun control laws. Students of the Florida school, where 17 people were gunned down last week, have given their own call for march on Washington and other major cities next month to goad the authorities into action on gun control.
Trump’s listening session would be attended not only by students, parents and teachers from the Florida school, but also by those impacted by two earlier mass shootings: the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut in December 2012 that killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years of age, and the Columbine High School shooting in April 1999 that killed 12 students and one teacher.
Steps to regulate bump fire stocks and similar devices were initiated soon after the las Vegas massacre, but long-winded Government procedures have taken their own time, with more than 100,000 comments having been received during a public comment phase that concluded only on January 25.
“Although I desire swift and decisive action, I remain committed to the rule of law and to the procedures the law prescribes,” Trump said on Tuesday, stressing: “Doing this the right way will ensure that the resulting regulation is workable and effective and leaves no loopholes for criminals to exploit.”
A Justice Department spokesperson said: “The department understands this is a priority for the president and has acted quickly to move through the rulemaking process. We look forward to the results of that process as soon as it is duly completed.”