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US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration would take steps to ban an accessory that enables a rifle to shoot hundreds of rounds a minute as he considers additional firearms restrictions after last week's school shooting in Florida.
Tightening gun laws would mark a change in course for Trump, who has championed gun rights during his campaign and presidency. The mass shooting at a high school in Florida, where 17 people died, has reignited a drive to curb access to firearms.
Trump directed the US Justice Department to quickly complete a proposed rule that would treat "bump stocks" as machine guns, which could effectively outlaw them in the United States.
"I expect that these critical regulations will be finalized very soon," Trump said. "We cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference, we must actually make a difference."
US President Donald Trump speaks with doctor Igor Nichiporenko and First Lady Melania Trump while visiting first responders at Broward Health North hospital Pompano Beach, Florida, Feb. 16, 2018.
The move came in response to an October massacre in Las Vegas, where a gunman used a bump-stock-equipped rifle to kill 58 people.
It put Trump at odds with the powerful National Rifle Association, which has opposed bump-stock restrictions, and would allow him to bypass Congress, where a bump-stock ban has failed to advance.
Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump would not rule out other options as well, such as raising the minimum age for rifle buyers or banning the AR-15-style "assault rifles".
The suspect in the high school shooting, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was armed with an AR-15 style rifle that he had purchased legally, authorities said.
Under federal law, people must be at least 21 years old to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer. But they only have to be 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has warned that the order could be tied up in court for years unless Congress also passes a bump-stock ban.
Weapons are on display at Roseburg Gun Shop in Roseburg, Oregon, Oct. 2, 2015.
The Florida shooting has galvanized students across the country to rally in favor of stronger gun laws. Previous mass shootings in the United States have also stirred outrage and calls for action, with few results in Congress.
Trump is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with students, parents and teachers from Parkland and other survivors of school shootings in Colorado and Connecticut as the White House considers options to make schools safer.
(REUTERS)
