President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he ordered the Department of Justice to propose new regulations that are going to ban bump stocks. Bump stocks are additional devices added to semi-automatic guns which allow the guns to be modified to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute.
“We can do more to protect our children. We must do more to protect our children,” Trump said at the White House press conference.
The decision comes as result of the latest school shooting that took place in Florida where 17 people were killed.
The Hill reported that bump stocks came to the forefront of the gun control debate after the deadly mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival in October that left nearly 60 dead and more than 500 injured. The gunman in that incident allegedly used a bump stock device while firing rounds on the crowd of concert-goers from a hotel room above them.
However, a bump stock device wasn’t used in the Florida shooting. Nonetheless, Trump’s statement shows that the White House succumbs to the pressure of students from the school and around the country that demand change.
According to The Hill, after the deadly Las Vegas shooting, Trump said he directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to clarify whether certain bump stock devices like the once used in Las Vegas are illegal under current law.
“That process began in December and just a few moments ago I signed a memorandum directing the Attorney General to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns,” Trump said Tuesday.
“I expect that these critical regulations will be finalized, Jeff, very soon.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also stated that the president is against bump stocks and the White House will take further action in the coming days.
“He ordered the Department of Justice and the ATF to review the regulation of bump stocks,” she said.
“My understanding is that review has been completed and movement will take place on that shortly. But the president, when it comes to that, is committed to ensuring those devices … The president doesn’t support the use of those accessories.”
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