On shooting’s anniversary, Trump says ‘the bump stock is almost gone’

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on trade between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the nomination of Brett Cavanaugh to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 1, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - This Oct. 4, 2017 file photo shows a device called a "bump stock" attached to a semi-automatic rifle at a gun store and shooting range in Utah. What's happened to bump stocks in the year since Las Vegas? There were growing calls to ban the devices in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip. Some succeeded, but others did not. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sent his “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of last year’s mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead “exactly one year ago today.”

At a Rose Garden press conference, Trump blamed a snail’s pace regulatory system for slowing down his effort to ban bump stocks, a device used by the Las Vegas gunman to accelerate the rate of fire of his weapons.

In February, Trump told the Department of Justice to write regulations to ban the devices, but officials first had to review public comments. “We are now at the final stages of that procedure,” Trump explained.

Follow the Review Journal Coverage of Oct. 1 Anniversary

The White House told the Review-Journal last week that the Department of Justice had sent regulations to ban the devices to the Office of Management and Budget, but the process “takes about a year.”

“We are in the final two or three weeks,” Trump said. “The bump stock is almost gone.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.