Trump takes executive action to ban bump stocks that turn rifles into automatic weapons

WASHINGTON — President Trump has signed a memorandum instructing the attorney general to regulate the use of bump stocks, effectively banning the use of the devices that can allow rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons.

Trump made the announcement at a Medal of Valor ceremony and at the White House for firefighters and police officers — some of whom intervened in shooting incidents.

Trump told told Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seated in the front row in the East Room, he wants those new federal guidelines finalized “very soon.”

Earlier: ATF reviewing whether to ban ‘bump stocks’

“We can do more to protect our children. We must do more to protect our children,” Trump said, promising that school safety is now a top priority of his administration. 

Moments before, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration was nearing the completion of a months-long study into the issue. 

“I can tell you that the president supports not having the use of bump stocks,” she said. “The president does not support the use of those accessories.”

Bump stocks were used in the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people last Oct. 1.

 

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