Trump backs additional gun measures in wake of mass shootings
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump endorsed further steps Thursday on gun measures to increase safety in the wake of a Florida mass shooting that has sparked national protests and a demand for federal action.
Trump again backed a measure to ban “bump stocks” — like those used in the Las Vegas shooting — and announced support for increasing the minimum age for people to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21. He also said he would push for comprehensive background checks with an emphasis on mental health.
And he called for arming and training select school officials, a proposal that has been met with mixed response.
The president’s proposals come a week after the Florida tragedy, the latest in a number of recent mass shootings at schools, churches, movie theaters and a country music festival in Nevada.
“I want to end the problem,” Trump said at the White House. “I don’t want to have it where this happens again.”
Trump made the comment in a listening session organized by the White House following the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
In an emotional exchange Wednesday, students and parents of victims of recent shootings implored Trump to act on gun control and school safety.
The president met Thursday with law enforcement, lawmakers and officials from states that have experienced mass shootings. He will meet with the nation’s governors at the White House next week at which time school safety will be the top priority, said White House spokesman Raj Shah.
Sandoval applauds directive
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, chairman of the National Governors Association, applauded Trump earlier this week for directing the Justice Department to craft regulations that would ban “bump stocks,” devices that increase the rate of fire of semi-automatics to that of nearly fully automatic weapons.
Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, had 12 bump stock devices on semi-automatic rifles he used to fire 11,000 rounds in 10 minutes into a Las Vegas country music festival on Oct. 1, killing 58 people and wounding more than 500.
While some have called for Congress to ban bump stocks, Sandoval said an administrative federal approach is the best for “for swift and uniform change.”
“We’re getting rid of the bump stocks,” Trump told the officials gathered at the White House on Thursday as he outlined his suggestions to improve safety at schools.
Trump also called for raising the federal minimum age to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, a measure opposed by the National Rifle Association.
The president’s position puts him at odds with a staunch political supporter in the NRA, but Shah dismissed the conflict, saying the president and the gun lobby would not agree on every proposal.
Trump also said Thursday that he wants to arm qualified teachers and school personnel to “harden the sites” and deter shootings, a position that is backed by the NRA. Trump said current policies and “gun-free” schools invite attacks by a “sicko.”
“If you say a school is ‘gun free,’ that is what they want to hear,” Trump said.
The president said the arming of teachers “adept at guns” is better than hiring a multitude of guards or holding active shooting drills that could alarm children.
The proposal has been met with mixed reaction. The American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten called it the worst of a series of bad ideas.
Bump stock bills
Earlier this week, Trump issued his directive to the Justice Department to streamline a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms review of bump stocks and ban sales of the devices. The ATF has twice before concluded it did not have the authority to ban bump stocks without congressional action.
A bipartisan bill to change current law and give ATF the authority to ban the devices was filed in the House by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a former FBI agent, and Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.
But House Republican leaders ignored the bill last year and instead passed legislation to lessen restrictions to carry concealed weapons.
Legislation is filed in the House and Senate that would ban bump stocks outright. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, and Reps. Jacky Rosen and Ruben Kihuen, all Nevada Democrats, have signed onto those bills.
The House and Senate have not taken up those bills.
Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, both Nevada Republicans, sought an administrative directive to regulate bump stocks. Heller applauded the president’s action earlier this week.
The House bill also includes a proposal to bolster reporting to the FBI database for background checks. The Senate also is considering a bipartisan bill that would strengthen reporting to the system.
Measures to strengthen the background check system were sought after the gunman in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, mass shooting was able to purchase weapons used in the attack despite arrests and convictions for domestic abuse.
But the Florida attack last week has prompted an outpouring by parent and students, who have held protests in Florida, North Carolina and Nevada.
Next week House Democrats are expected to file a bill to restore the assault weapons ban that expired 2004. The bill would make it illegal to purchase or trade AR-15-style semi-automatic weapons like those that were used in attacks in Florida, Texas and Nevada.
Titus and Rosen said they intend to co-sponsor the bill.
But several previous efforts to restore the assault weapons ban have failed, including legislation filed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.
