President Trump said Tuesday he has directed the Department of Justice to propose regulations that would ban bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic 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 during the announcement at the White House.
Trump’s decision comes days after 17 people were killed in a school shooting in Florida. The killings have increased pressure on Trump and lawmakers in Congress to do something about the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States.
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.
It does not appear that a bump stock device was used in the Florida shooting, nor does it appear a prohibition on the devices would have stopped that shooter.
Still, Trump’s remarks illustrate a desire on the part of the White House to show action on the issue of guns as students from the school and around the country demand change.
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 said the president doesn’t support the use of bump stocks and the White House expects 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.”
The announcement from Trump comes as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has yet to decide whether it will create new restrictions for the attachment that enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire at a faster rate.
