According to NBC News, President Donald trump has tasked Attorney General Jeff Sessions with proposing new changes that would ban the controversial bump fire stocks, which turns legal firearms into machine guns. His decision comes days after the tragic shooting at Douglas High School in Florida.
Trump's announcement comes after lawmakers, and the public has been fighting to ban the bump fire stocks, which was what allowed Stephen Braddock in Las Vegas to kill so many innocent victims. Trump spoke during a Medal of Valor event saying he wants Sessions to propose changes that would ban any and all devices that "turn legal weapons into machine guns."
Justice Dept. has already started working
In December, the Department of Justice had already announced it is working to reinterpret the legality of these types of devices.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives presented a proposal that questioned the legal definition of a machine gun under federal law and received more than 35,000 comments from the American public.
Fox News reported that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that the president ordered the DOJ and ATF to review the controversial bump fire stocks, which Sanders said has been completed. Sanders said that decisions on that front would begin shortly. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) offered up a bill in 2017 that was intended to ban bump stocks. She supported Trump's decision but warned that ATF's new rules could fail because of their previous stances on similar devices. The legal matter surrounding these devices could land the ATF in court for years.
Trump looking to make it harder for young people to buy guns
During the press briefing, Sanders said that the possibility of raising the federal buying age for assault weapons like the AR-15 had not been ruled out. She said it was definitely something on the table and expected to discuss over the next several weeks. For most states, the minimum age to buy an AR-15 is 18, while other states have set the minimum age for handguns at 21.
Trump has requested the DOJ to offer up the proposal as fast as possible and also criticizing the Obama administration for not taking serious action of their own. President Obama routinely pushed for more gun control measures, especially amid the fallout of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The ATF later ruled that it could not legally control the controversial bump stocks.
Along with his order to the DOJ, President Trump is hosting listening sessions with those affected by school shootings in Columbine and Newtown and Parkland, including parents, teachers, and students. President Trump is also expected to work at making changes to the background check process.
