Donald Trump orders Justice Department to ban rapid-fire gun modifications
President Donald Trump has signed a memo directing the Justice Department to propose regulations to "ban all devices" like the bump stocks used in last year's Las Vegas massacre.
The president made the announcement to curb the use of the rapid-fire devices during a ceremony recognising bravery by the nation's public safety officers.
Mr Trump was responding days after 17 people were shot dead at a Florida school.
The Trump Administration will look into banning bump stocks https://t.co/tYmXxl23xJ pic.twitter.com/zDlaDVD5XI
— TIME (@TIME) February 20, 2018
He pointed to the need for regulations to ban the device that was used to shoot 58 people in Las Vegas last October.
White House officials said the president will meet students, teachers and state and local officials to discuss ways of providing more school safety and address gun violence.
Past efforts to address gun violence in Congress have failed.
Mr Trump said: "We must move past cliches and tired debates and focus on evidence based solutions and security measures that actually work."
Bump stocks were used in the Las Vegas massacre, and were attached to six of the long guns found in the shooter's hotel room.
A legislative effort to ban the device fizzled out last year.
Mr Trump has also indicated he is open to a limited strengthening of federal background checks on gun purchases.
Over the weekend, the White House said he had spoken to Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers.
If President Trump were watching right now, what would you want to say to him?
— CNN (@CNN) February 20, 2018
Florida school shooting survivor: "I think that it's really important that you listen to us. ... You are working for us and kids are dead." https://t.co/AYX7wRFFTZ pic.twitter.com/CS4UxgTdZw
The president's spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders qualified the support, stressing that talks continue and "revisions are being considered".
But she said "the president is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system".
The main action Mr Trump has taken on guns has been to sign a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people.
The president has voiced strong support for gun rights and the National Rifle Association.
The bipartisan background check legislation would be aimed at ensuring that federal agencies and states accurately report relevant criminal information to the FBI.
It was introduced after the US air force failed to report the criminal history of a gunman who slaughtered more than two dozen people at a Texas church.
The president's statement comes as shooting survivors and other young people press for more gun control in a rising chorus of grief and activism.
Their "March for Our Lives" is planned for March 24 in Washington.
Ella Fesler, a 16-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, was among the students at a "lie-in" earlier today in front of the White House.
She said it was time for change, adding: "Every day when I say 'bye' to my parents, I do acknowledge the fact that I could never see my parents again."
